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Cardiovascular Board Meeting Summary | Spring 2024

July 25, 2024  |  Posted by admin  |  Specialty Board Meeting Summaries

Andrea M. Russo, MD, Chair of the Cardiovascular Board

The Cardiovascular Board held its spring meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2024. The agenda provided an opportunity to update the Specialty Board on activity at ABIM and allowed for discussion of pressing issues in the field. The Specialty Board was joined for a portion of the meeting* by representatives of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).

The Specialty Board gratefully acknowledges the service of departing members Craig Beam, Suzanne A. Feigofsky, MD, and John M. Herre, MD, whose terms ended June 30, 2024.

The following is a summary of the spring meeting.

Conversation with the President*

Prior to the meeting, members and guests of the Cardiovascular Board had the opportunity to view a video update from Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, President and Chief Executive Officer of ABIM and ABIM Foundation, reflecting on current issues for ABIM and the internal medicine community, including:

  • The ongoing collaboration between ABIM and internal medicine societies to address their members’ concerns and feedback about the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. More than 30 societies met with ABIM in fall 2023, in addition to ongoing discussions throughout the year. In part, the collaboration also explores the need for focused assessments in select subdomains of specific specialties where enough physicians are focusing their practice. Focused assessments have already launched in sleep medicine and internal medicine, with more to come in the future, including hematology in 2026.
  • ABIM’s work to mitigate the spread and negative impact of misinformation for physicians and patients. Most recently, ABIM updated the way it reports certification status for physicians to be more transparent about why some certificates are no longer active, such as being “Revoked,” “Suspended” or “Lapsed.”
  • The establishment of a dedicated innovation team at ABIM to explore how emerging technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can be used to assess physicians in the rapidly evolving context of their requisite skills and practice environments.
  • Dr. Baron’s approaching retirement later this year, the Board of Directors’ search for a new CEO and ABIM’s transition to new leadership. As of this report, Furman S. McDonald, MD, MPH, who currently serves as ABIM’s Senior Vice President, Academic and Medical Affairs, has been announced as ABIM’s new CEO, effective September 1, 2024.

One of the topics of the group’s discussion was the application of several cardiology societies to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) to form a new certifying board, the proposed “American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine.” Members of the Cardiovascular Board expressed their concern about fracturing the discipline. Dr. Baron reaffirmed that ABIM remains committed to offering certification and MOC in cardiovascular disease and has recused itself from any part of the ABMS discussion and decision-making process regarding the application. ABIM also continues to work with ACC to provide the ABIM/ACC Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP) for cardiologists. ABIM’s goal remains to continually improve assessment processes so physicians can stay current in knowledge and practice, ultimately in the service of better patient care.

The group also discussed AI and its potential impact on ABIM and diplomates with regard to policy. While some ABMS member boards have policies prohibiting the use of AI in assessments, ABIM’s current policy states that any reference other than another physician is acceptable for answering questions on the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA®).

ABIM and Physician Feedback*

Though ABIM has long prioritized physician feedback in shaping its programs, the organization has placed renewed emphasis on addressing elements of the certification program that can and should be improved, as well as fostering the community’s perception of the value of certification and physician pride in maintaining certification. Richard G. Battaglia, MD, FACP, Chief Medical Officer for ABIM, gave the Cardiovascular Board an overview of recent physician feedback and actions that ABIM is considering, and invited the group to share their ideas and suggestions for ABIM to consider as it continues working with societies, diplomates and the broader internal medicine community.

Some members of the Specialty Board shared their concerns about how MOC requirements can be burdensome for cardiologists when considered in addition to other practice requirements. They also expressed a desire for clearer communication regarding changes to the certification process and updates to the ABIM website. Improvements are already underway in response to similar feedback received over the last year, including changes to the test center experience, website design, user experience and how ABIM communicates about MOC fees.

Specialty Board Oversight of Assessments*

ABIM’s Specialty Boards are responsible for reviewing and approving the assessment blueprints and standards for certification, MOC and the LKA in their respective disciplines. Each spring, the Specialty Boards review data related to the population of new graduates entering the discipline, diplomates maintaining their certification, workforce information, and assessment performance trends and feedback. Periodic review of these data helps to inform the Specialty Boards’ assessment decisions. The Cardiovascular Board discussed assessment data in the discipline and provided feedback to ABIM staff about which data were most helpful for ongoing oversight of assessment. Some of the data the Specialty Board reviewed are publicly available on ABIM’s website, including:

The Specialty Board discussed changing demographics in the discipline as well as the shortage of cardiologists. They also noted that while more women are entering the field over the last 10 years, there continues to be a higher proportion of White and Asian cardiologists in comparison to African American cardiologists. Joyce Donnellan, Division Vice President, Education for ACC, noted that the ACC Young Scholars Program, designed to increase diversity in cardiology through high school programs, seems to be successful so far, although no data are yet available. Laura Porter, CMP, Assistant Director of Education for SCAI, added that SCAI also has a program aimed at fostering interest in medical students to pursue interventional cardiology, an initiative of SCAI’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee.

Exploring Focused Assessment(s) in the Discipline*

ABIM currently offers focused versions of its assessments in internal medicine (the Internal Medicine: Inpatient LKA and traditional, 10-year MOC exam) and sleep medicine (the Sleep Medicine LKA: Obstructive Sleep Apnea Emphasis). Additional explorations have begun in gastroenterology and hematology with plans announced recently to develop malignant- and classical-focused versions of the Hematology LKA (in addition to the general Hematology LKA) to launch in 2026. ABIM plans to continue exploring the idea of focused assessments in other specialties with stakeholder input at multiple levels, including that of the Specialty Boards, to determine whether focused assessments are appropriate in those disciplines.

ABIM offers certification in several cardiology subspecialties (Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Interventional Cardiology), meaning a physician can maintain certification in their subspecialty without maintaining their Cardiovascular Certificate. When discussing the possibility of exploring further specialization—i.e., focused assessments—within general cardiology or the subspecialties, the Specialty Board expressed that while making assessments more relevant to practice is always worthwhile, they were concerned about creating confusion and did not recommend pursuing the exploration of focused assessments. Members of the Specialty Board pressed ABIM to continue evolving its program to align with the reality of cardiology practice, and to respond proactively to the concerns of the larger cardiology community expressed in the meeting.

Society guests departed at this point in the meeting.

Update on the Cardiovascular Approval Committees

Jamil Aboulhosn, MD, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles; Chair of the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Traditional 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee  

George Bittar, MD, Union Hospital System; Chair of the Interventional Cardiology LKA Approval Committee

Dimitri C. Cassimatis, MD, FACC, Emory University School of Medicine; Chair of the Cardiovascular Disease Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee

Savitri E. Fedson, MA, MD, Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center; Chair of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee

James P. Daubert, MD, Duke University School of Medicine; Chair of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee

Larry Dean, MD, University of Washington School of Medicine; Chair of the Cardiovascular Disease LKA Approval Committee

The Cardiovascular Board works with seven approval committees responsible for approving all assessment content and maintaining the assessment blueprints in Cardiovascular Disease and four subspecialties: Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology and Interventional Cardiology. There is an Approval Committee for each assessment offered in each discipline.

The chairs provided a brief update for the Cardiovascular Board on the composition of the Approval Committees, progress on item development in meetings this year and news about the Item-Writing Task Force.

Member Selection for the Cardiovascular Approval Committees

ABIM’s Specialty Boards are responsible for selecting members and chairs of the Approval Committees annually and as needed. At the spring meeting, the Cardiovascular Board reviewed candidate materials for open positions, including chairs, on several Approval Committees. The group unanimously voted to approve the following appointments effective July 1, 2024:

  • Andrew Calvin, MD, Mayo Clinic Health System and Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine, joined the Cardiovascular LKA Approval Committee.
  • James P. Daubert, MD, Duke University School of Medicine, (at the time, interim chair) was named Chair of the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee. Dr. Daubert has served as a member of the Approval Committee since 2022 and prior to that served on the defunct Cardiovascular Board Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Exam Committee from 2020 to 2021.
  • Georges Ephrem, MD, MSc, FSCAI, University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center, joined the Interventional Cardiology LKA Approval Committee.
  • Michael Lloyd, MD, Emory University School of Medicine, joined the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.
  • Jonathan Marmur, MD, FACP, FRCP, State University of New York Health Science Center, joined the Interventional Cardiology LKA Approval Committee.
  • Babak Nazer, MD, University of Washington Medical Center, joined the Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.
  • Daniel Yip, MD, Mayo Clinic Florida, joined the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.

Join ABIM Governance

There are more than 130 practicing cardiologists serving on all levels of ABIM Governance including the Board of Directors, the ABIM Council, the Specialty Board, Approval Committees and the Item-Writing Task Forces. They help create content and shape assessments in cardiovascular disease and its subspecialties—interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, adult congenital heart disease and clinical cardiac electrophysiology—so certification remains meaningful and relevant to all cardiologists.

The ABIM Council has three openings for terms beginning July 1, 2025:

Applications are due August 12, 2024, and appointments are expected to be announced in spring 2025.

Openings on ABIM’s Approval Committees will be announced in fall 2024. Visit the website for a complete list of current openings.

New Ways to Recognize Diplomates for Their Commitment to Staying Current

ABIM is exploring new ways to recognize physicians who participate in the MOC program. This includes finding opportunities to celebrate assessment milestones and ongoing efforts to stay current. Nicole Welk-Joerger, Ph.D., Program Manager of Stakeholder Engagement for ABIM, shared information about the project with the Cardiovascular Board, including a number of proposed tactics for early consideration. Dr. Welk-Joerger invited members to share their feedback and reactions on how diplomates want to be recognized and what forms of recognition are most impactful for physicians.

The Specialty Board discussed various forms of recognition, from pins to paper certificates, to emphasize the importance of customization and choice when recognizing individual diplomates. Members agreed that patients and other health care team members should be targeted in communications aimed at educating them about the significance of board certification and what it entails. They also discussed how recognition should be linked with the work that goes into maintaining certification, and that time in the form of breaks during the MOC cycle or extra time on assessment questions would be meaningful as a reward or form of recognition.

In Closing

The Cardiovascular Board values the feedback and commentary of the entire medical community, including diplomates and society partners.

Do you have any questions? Are you interested in getting involved?

If you have questions after reading this report, please connect with us through the following channels:

*Indicates society guests were present for this session.

ABIM governance, Andrea M. Russo, Cardiovascular Board, Cardiovascular Disease, Summary Report

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