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ABIM Update: Supporting You with Resources to Navigate MOC

September 25, 2017  |  Posted by ABIM  |  Announcements, Assessments for MOC, MOC, Physician Feedback in Action: Online Tools

Physicians have asked ABIM for a more flexible and relevant Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Thanks to this feedback, earlier this year, ABIM announced plans to roll out two-year Knowledge Check-Ins as an option in addition to the traditional MOC exam.

In 2018, physicians will begin to have access to an online resource, UpToDate®, during Internal Medicine and Nephrology Knowledge Check-Ins and traditional MOC exams. The use of UpToDate will expand through 2018 and 2019.

Doctors also requested that we make it simpler to understand the MOC program and steps they can take to maintain certification.

That’s why we’ve created the new resources below that we hope you find helpful. And at any time, you can sign into your physician home page to check your MOC status, contact us with questions or subscribe to the blog for regular updates.

The most obvious difference is that the ABIM Knowledge Check-In can be taken in the comfort of your home or workplace. Secondly, it will be a much shorter experience. You do not need to be successful on every Knowledge Check-In to maintain certification (as long as you complete other program requirements). You will also receive performance results much quicker and more detailed feedback about your performance will follow.

  1. IM and Nephrology only available in 2018 with more specialties to roll out in 2019 and 2020. To view our rollout schedule, visit abim.org/rollout.
  2. In Spring 2018, IM and Nephrology exams will be part open book/part closed book, while other specialties will be entirely closed book.
  3. In Fall 2018, IM and Nephrology exams will be entirely open book while other specialties will be part open book/part closed book.
  4. Initially, the Knowledge Check-in will contain questions covering the breadth of the discipline; however, ABIM is continuing to explore focusing assessments on a subset of knowledge relevant to specific practice types.

Initially, the ABIM Knowledge Check-In will cover the breadth of your discipline but ABIM is continuing to explore how we might be able to move to assessing a subset of knowledge relevant to practice in the future, since many physicians requested this.

If a physician is successful on the ABIM Knowledge Check-In in 2018, it will count as a pass. If a physician is not successful and their exam was due in 2018 or 2019, they will have another opportunity to take it again in 2020 without a change to their certification status.

This doesn’t mean physicians can skip the assessment. If a physician skips it, and their certification expires in 2018, their status will change to Not Certified.

In addition to meeting other certification requirements, physicians with certifications expiring in 2018 will need to take the Knowledge Check-In or pass the traditional MOC exam or they will no longer be certified.

If you do well on the ABIM Knowledge Check-Ins, you won’t need to take the traditional MOC exam to remain certified.

In 2018, the Knowledge Check-In will be available in Internal Medicine and Nephrology. View the tentative rollout schedule to find out when the Knowledge Check-In will be available in your specialty.

Please note that the Knowledge Check-Ins will be offered every other year from the year they are first offered within a specialty. For example, Knowledge Check-Ins that begin in 2018 will be offered again in 2020. Knowledge Check-Ins that start in 2019 will be offered again in 2021. If you are due to take an assessment during an “off” year and want to take the Knowledge Check-In, you should plan to take it a year early.

*Adult Congenital Heart Disease will be available the first year the MOC assessment is offered in 2023.

ABIM is working to make the ABIM Knowledge Check-In available for all subspecialties as soon as possible.

To effectively develop and implement so many new assessments at one time, ABIM plans to make assessments available as quickly as is realistically possible.

All physicians with certifications that expire before the ABIM Knowledge Check-In is offered in their specialty will still need to take and pass the traditional MOC exam in order to maintain their certification.

Because your certification will expire on 12/31/17—before the ABIM Knowledge Check-In is available in your specialty area—you will need to pass the traditional MOC exam in order to maintain your certification.

Allowing your certification to lapse will prevent you from being able to take the ABIM Knowledge Check-In.

Once you pass the traditional MOC exam, you will have 10 years before you need to take another assessment.

Knowledge Check-Ins:

Registration will open in January 2018 for Internal Medicine and Nephrology Knowledge Check-ins.

Available dates for the Knowledge Check-In are listed below and ABIM will be in touch with more information, including deadlines, before registration opens:

2018 Internal Medicine Knowledge Check-Ins:

  • June 7
  • June 9
  • September 12
  • September 15
  • November 20
  • December 1

2018 Nephrology Knowledge Check-Ins:

  • June 7
  • June 9
  • November 1
  • November 6

If you are thinking about taking the Knowledge Check-In at home, click this link to make sure your personal or work computer meets the specifications to take the assessment.

Traditional MOC exams: In January 2018, you can begin to register for traditional MOC exams in both spring and fall 2018. Deadlines apply to both spring and fall MOC exams and all Knowledge Check-Ins.

If you are thinking about taking the Knowledge Check-In at home or in your workplace, we’ll walk you through the process to make sure you’re all set before you take your assessment.

Click this link to make sure your personal or work computer meets the specifications to take the assessment.

In addition to having a computer that meets the necessary requirements, you will also need to have a reliable internet connection, web camera and microphone, administrative rights on your computer, and a private, enclosed space that is free from disruptions.

Please note that the Knowledge Check-In will also be offered at a secure testing center if you cannot or prefer not to take it in your home or workplace.

Open book means that physicians will begin to have access an external resource during Knowledge Check-Ins and MOC exams.

Open book availability for the Knowledge Check-In:

  • Physicians will be able to access UpToDate®—an online, evidence-based clinical decision support resource—directly through the exam platform during the 2018 Knowledge Check-Ins for Internal Medicine and Nephrology. All Knowledge Check-Ins that open in 2019 and beyond will feature access to UpToDate.

Open book availability for the traditional MOC Exam:

  • Spring 2018: Physicians will be able to access UpToDate directly through the exam platform for part of the Internal Medicine and Nephrology traditional MOC exams, while the other part will be closed book. This allows ABIM to evaluate the performance of questions to ensure a fair testing experience while transitioning from closed-book exams to exams that allow access to an external resource. All other spring 2018 MOC exams will be entirely closed book.
  • Fall 2018: Physicians will be able to access UpToDate for the entire Internal Medicine and Nephrology traditional MOC exams. All other traditional MOC exams administered in fall 2018 will feature access to UpToDate for part of the exam.
  • 2019 and beyond: Physicians will be able to access UpToDate® on the entire exam for most specialties. Some specialties may still require part of the exam to be closed book.

If you are successful on the ABIM Knowledge Check-In in 2018, it will count as a pass. If you are not successful and your exam is due in 2018 or 2019, you will have another opportunity to take it again in 2020.

This doesn’t mean physicians can skip the assessment. If you skip it and your certification expires in 2018, your certification will lapse. In addition to meeting other certification requirements, physicians with certifications expiring in 2018 will need to take the Knowledge Check-In or traditional MOC exam or they will no longer be certified.

You do not need to be successful on every two-year Knowledge Check-In to maintain certification.

If you choose the new Knowledge Check-In and you take it for the first time either the year before you are due or the year you are due, and you are not successful, you will have to pass the traditional MOC exam in order to remain certified.

If you want to build in a cushion by allowing time for more attempts at the Knowledge Check-In before you are due, plan to take the Knowledge Check-In two to three years before your due date.

If you are interested in taking the Knowledge Check-In, it will be offered in Internal Medicine and Nephrology in 2018 and 2020. There will be no Internal Medicine and Nephrology Knowledge Check-Ins in 2019, so if you want to choose that option, you should register for a date in 2018.

If you are successful on the ABIM Knowledge Check-In in 2018, it will count as a pass. If you are not successful, you will have another opportunity to take it again in 2020.

If you do not take the Knowledge Check-In in 2018, you’ll still have the opportunity to take the traditional MOC exam in 2019.

*Adult Congenital Heart Disease will be available the first year the MOC assessment is offered in 2023.

If the Knowledge Check-In opens in 2019 for your specialty and you are eligible, you can choose that option. If 2019 is the year your assessment is due and you don’t pass the Knowledge Check-In, you’ll need to pass the traditional MOC exam in 2020 in order to remain certified. Knowledge Check-Ins that open in 2019 will be offered again in 2021 – they will not be offered in 2020.

Beyond 2018, physicians who are unsuccessful on the Knowledge Check-In the year their certification is due will need to take the traditional MOC exam the following year, and only then would their certification status be effected.

ABIM is finalizing a new fee structure, which includes the new Knowledge Check-Ins. We will provide more information in the coming weeks, giving you time to consider your payment options before you would need to take the 2018 assessment. Total program fees paid over a 10-year period are expected to remain close to current levels.

ABIM Board Members Share their Assessment Plans

Rajeev Jain, MD – Dr. Jain is a board certified gastroenterologist who has been in private practice in Dallas, Texas, since 1999. He explains that he plans to take the two-year Knowledge Check-In the first year it’s offered in Gastroenterology (2019) because he wants to demonstrate to his patients he is keeping up with medical knowledge.


 

Roger Bush, MD – Dr. Bush, a board certified internist, is the Founding Program Director of the Billings Clinic Internal Medicine Residency, the first of its kind in this rural, underserved area. He is due to take an Internal Medicine assessment in 2020, and shares that he plans to take the two-year Knowledge Check-In because it fits with the way he learns.


 

Vineet Arora, MD – Dr. Arora, a board certified internist, is an academic hospitalist, Assistant Dean of Scholarship & Discovery, and Director of Graduate Medical Education Clinical Learning Environment and Innovation at University of Chicago. She is due to take an Internal Medicine assessment in 2021, but because the Knowledge Check-In will only be offered in 2018 and 2020, she plans to take it a year early in 2020. She recommends colleagues certified in Internal Medicine and due in 2019 to think about taking the 2018 Knowledge Check-In.