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Gastroenterology Board Meeting Summary | Spring 2024

July 22, 2024  |  Posted by admin  |  Specialty Board Meeting Summaries

Kenneth R. DeVault, MD, Chair of the Gastroenterology Board

The Gastroenterology Board held its spring meeting on Thursday, May 16, 2024. The agenda provided an opportunity to update the Gastroenterology 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 guests from the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the American College of Gastroenterology (ACG) and the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA).

The Gastroenterology Board gratefully acknowledges the service of departing member Laura D. Wingate, BA, whose term ended June 30, 2024. Ms. Wingate joined the Specialty Board in 2018. Read about her on the ABIM Blog.

The following is a summary of the spring meeting.

Conversation with the President*

Prior to the meeting, members and guests of the Gastroenterology 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updated the way it reports certification status for physicians to be more transparent about why some certificates are no longer active, such as being “Revoked,” “Suspended” or “Lapsed.”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.

In discussing the application of several cardiology specialty societies to form a proposed “American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine,” Dr. Baron reaffirmed that ABIM remains committed to offering certification and MOC in cardiovascular disease and has recused itself from any part of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) discussion and decision-making process regarding that application.

One Specialty Board member inquired about ABIM’s policy regarding the use of AI and chatbots in assessments. While some member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties 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®).

There was also some discussion around developing focused assessments in gastroenterology, which is explored in more detail below.

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 Gastroenterology 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.

The group briefly discussed whether the LKA could be offered to newly certified diplomates. As it stands, the LKA is available in the year in which a diplomate’s assessment is due. ABIM has heard feedback from this and other groups that newly certified diplomates are interested in participating in the LKA as a way to learn and meet MOC requirements and is considering the feedback and possible solutions.

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 Gastroenterology 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 group’s discussion centered on the survey that physicians receive after completing an assessment. Results of the survey have shown that most physicians agree the exam is a fair assessment of clinical knowledge; some members of the Specialty Board inquired whether ABIM had identified any trends in those who disagreed with this statement in the survey. Staff noted that the data show some variability, and many factors can influence the responses. Trends are monitored annually, and data is brought to the Approval Committees in each discipline for review as needed to help ensure the assessments remain relevant and valuable to the population.

Update on Focused Assessments in Gastroenterology*

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 in March to develop malignant- and classical-focused versions of the Hematology LKA (in addition to the general Hematology LKA), slated 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 other Specialty Boards, to determine whether focused assessments are appropriate in those disciplines.

The goal of practice profiles is to utilize a data driven approach to potentially identify common practice profiles that can form the basis of focused blueprints for LKA. Practice profiles have been discussed with the Gastroenterology Board and gastroenterology societies with an endorsement for moving forward to explore whether or not appropriate profiles are present based on data from diplomate practice surveys and Medicare data. The first necessary step has been to modify the current gastroenterology blueprint so that it reflects a clinical organization of gastroenterology more than an anatomic one.

Once the first and second level topics of an updated blueprint are approved, the next step will be to field a practice profile survey to diplomates and perform cluster analyses on the data and an analysis of Medicare data to see if feasible practice profiles are present. The analyses will serve as the basis of discussion with the Gastroenterology Board and gastroenterology societies and the ultimate decision by the Specialty Board about the introduction of practice profiles within the LKA.

Updates to the Gastroenterology Blueprint Second-Level Topics*

Charlene Prather, MD, Ph.D., Chair of the Gastroenterology LKA Approval Committee, reviewed the process over the last two years by which the Gastroenterology Approval Committee chairs developed revisions to the first-level topics of the blueprint and proposed changes to the second-level topics. Restructuring of the blueprint began in September 2022 in order to better reflect a clinical organization of gastroenterology rather than an anatomic one. This process was supported and recommended by the Specialty Board and gastroenterology societies. In spring 2023, the committee chairs worked on revisions to the first-level topics based on feedback gathered from societies that year. The final changes were approved in August and, since then, the committee chairs have been working on revisions to the second-level topics. The Specialty Board and specialty societies have had the chance to submit feedback on proposed changes. At the spring meeting, the chairs presented the topics to the Specialty Board and society partners with the goal of determining whether they accurately reflect the scope of practice in gastroenterology. Newly approved topics will be used as the basis for identifying potential opportunities for focused assessments in the future.

Society guests departed at this point in the meeting.

Following discussion among the Specialty Board members, they voted to approve the proposed second-level blueprint topics for use in ABIM gastroenterology assessments. The first- and second-level blueprint topics will also be the basis for surveying representative diplomate populations about how they practice.

Update on the Gastroenterology Approval Committees

Marwan S. Ghabril, MD, Indiana University; Chair of the Transplant Hepatology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee

Charlene Prather, MD, Ph.D., Saint Louis School of Medicine; Chair of the Gastroenterology LKA Approval Committee

ABIM Approval Committees are responsible for approving and editing all assessment content, and maintaining the blueprints for the initial certification exam, the MOC exam and the LKA. The Gastroenterology Board works with three Approval Committees: the Gastroenterology Traditional, 10-year MOC Exam Approval Committee (which also deals with the initial certification exam), the Gastroenterology LKA Approval Committee and the Transplant Hepatology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee. Dr. Prather and Dr. Ghabril provided a brief update for the Specialty 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 Gastroenterology 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 Gastroenterology Board reviewed candidate materials for an open position on two Gastroenterology Approval Committees. The group unanimously voted to approve the following appointments effective July 1, 2024:

  • Mohamed Shoreibah, MD, University of Alabama at Birmingham and Birmingham VA Hospital, for the Gastroenterology Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.
  • Ravi Vachhani, MD, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, for the Gastroenterology LKA Approval Committee.

Join ABIM Governance

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 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 Gastroenterology 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 agreed on the need for clearer communications about MOC requirements to help individual diplomates track their progress more easily over time. Some members noted that recognition should focus on creating a sense of community and belonging among ABIM diplomates. Others emphasized the importance of creating a platform for patients to easily search and identify board certified physicians, suggesting that diplomate profiles on the ABIM website showcase certification and expertise with greater visibility to patients through digital badges and other resources.

In Closing

The Gastroenterology 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, gastroenterology, Gastroenterology Board, Kenneth DeVault, Summary Report

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