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Infectious Disease Board Meeting Summary | Spring 2024

June 21, 2024  |  Posted by ABIM  |  Specialty Board Meeting Summaries

A word from the Specialty Board Chair: Click to view an introduction by Dr. Erica Johnson.
Erica Johnson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Chair, Infectious Disease Board; Secretary and Council Director, ABIM Board of Directors

The Infectious Disease Board held its spring meeting on Monday, March 11, 2024. The agenda provided an opportunity for staff to update the Infectious Disease Board on activity at ABIM and fostered discussion around pressing issues in the field. The Specialty Board was joined for a portion of the meeting* by a representative of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

The following is a summary of the spring meeting.

Conversation with the President*

Prior to the meeting, members and guests of the Infectious Disease Board had the opportunity to view a recorded video update from Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) 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. ABIM and more than 30 societies met in fall 2023, in addition to ongoing discussions throughout the year. In part, the collaboration also includes exploring the need for focused assessments in specific subdomains of select 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updated the way it reports certification status for physicians to be more transparent about why some certificates are no longer active, such as being “Revoked,” “Suspended” or “Lapsed.”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 can be used to assess physicians in the rapidly evolving context of their requisite skills and practice environments.
  • Dr. Baron’s approaching retirement this year, the Board of Directors’ search for a new CEO and ABIM’s transition to new leadership.

In discussion, some members of the Infectious Disease Board shared further thoughts on the need for ABIM to identify opportunities for engaging patients in support of board certification, and ABIM’s role in addressing misinformation in the broader context of public health and growing mistrust of health authorities.

Additionally, the group discussed requests that the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) made last year to ABIM and suggestions for enhancing some aspects of the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment LKA®). Rachel Shnekendorf, Senior Director of Education for IDSA, clarified that the intent of the requests is to streamline continuing medical education (CME) requirements with those of the MOC program in order to ease burdens on practicing physicians. The discussion underscored the need for more clarity and efficiency in the continuing certification process, and the complexities of developing a rigorous and valuable assessment program while also addressing physicians’ evolving needs and challenges as professionals. Dr. Baron emphasized that ABIM is committed to continuing to listen to physician and society feedback, and to improving the physician experience of certification and MOC.

Specialty Board Oversight of Assessments*

The Specialty Boards that oversee each discipline of internal medicine are responsible for reviewing and approving the assessment blueprints and standards for certification, MOC and the LKA. 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 Infectious Disease 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:

In response to questions from members of the Specialty Board, Jerome Clauser, Ed.D., Senior Director of Research and Innovations for ABIM, explained that individual comments are reviewed from every examinee but that if a question is removed, it is removed for all examinees. In addition, he discussed that although standard setting for the LKA has not begun yet, the LKA will have its own standard that will be developed in a process similar to that used to develop the longform exams.

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, medical oncology and hematology with plans announced recently to develop malignant- and classical-focused versions of the 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 discussion of this topic, members of the Infectious Disease Board and guests offered several points for consideration, including:

  • An emphasis on the need to address questions on the existing general infectious disease assessments.
  • The opportunity to collaborate with IDSA on developing focused assessments.
  • How to recognize physicians who successfully complete certification or MOC in focused assessments in the absence of recognition from their employers.

Update from IDSA*

Ms. Shnekendorf gave the Specialty Board an overview of IDSA’s latest strategic priorities which focus on elevating the discipline, expanding and fostering a diverse, motivated and adequately compensated workforce, and developing practice guidelines and pandemic preparedness. IDSA has developed a new workforce initiative to inspire interest in the field at the medical school, residency and fellowship levels, develop sustainable and rewarding career paths, and promote equity so the workforce reflects the diverse community it serves. The society is also investing in advocacy programs to expand lobbying efforts and inform legislators about issues central to the infectious diseases community. IDSA encourages members to join the Member Access Program to receive advocacy training and advance priorities such as adequate compensation, loan repayment, antimicrobial resistance solutions, and funding for research and public health projects.

ABIM and Physician Feedback*

Erica N. Johnson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Chair of the Infectious Disease Board, introduced a topic recently discussed by the ABIM Board of Directors. The Board recognized that though ABIM has always engaged in listening to physician feedback, there are elements of the certification program that can and should be addressed. The Board has also renewed its focus on 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 an overview of recent physician feedback and actions that the Board is considering, and invited the Infectious Disease Board to share their ideas and suggestions about how ABIM can work with societies, diplomates and the broader internal medicine community.

Members of the Specialty Board offered several suggestions, including:

  • Considerations of the benefits of focused assessments for diplomates who hold multiple certificates (as many infectious disease diplomates also maintain their primary internal medicine certificate and even additional subspecialty certificates).
  • Streamlining CME, MOC and LKA requirements, and simplifying or enhancing payment options for the fee structure to reduce the burden of time and cost on physicians, as well as clear communication around changes to the requirements.

Society guests departed at this point in the meeting.

Update on the Infectious Disease Approval Committees

Anthony K. Leung, DO, FACP, FIDSA, FASCP, The Cleveland Clinic; Chair of the Infectious Disease LKA Approval Committee

ABIM Approval Committees are responsible for approving and editing all assessment content, and maintaining the blueprints for the Initial Certification Examination, the Traditional, 10-year MOC exam and the LKA. There are two Approval Committees in infectious disease: the Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee (which also approves content for the initial certification exam) and the LKA Approval Committee. Dr. Leung provided a brief update on the composition of the Approval Committees, work done in recent meetings and the work of the Infectious Disease Item-Writing Task Force.

In discussing the composition of the Approval Committees, the group noted that most members practice in academic centers and discussed how to diversify the committees with more physicians practicing in community settings while meeting the eligibility requirement of previous item-writing experience. Dr. Johnson pointed out that the Item-Writing Task Force, which comprises a more diverse pool of infectious disease physicians, is intended to help meet that need.

Member Selection for the Infectious Disease Approval Committees

The Specialty Boards are responsible for selecting members and chairs of the Approval Committees annually and as needed. At the spring meeting, the Infectious Disease Board reviewed candidate materials for a new member on both the Infectious Disease LKA Approval Committee and the Infectious Disease Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee. The group unanimously voted to approve the following appointments effective July 1, 2024:

  • Christian Rojas Moreno, MD, FACP, FIDSA, of the University of Missouri-Columbia, will join the LKA Approval Committee,
  • Col. Roseanne A. Ressner, DO, FIDSA, FACP, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, will join the Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam Approval Committee.

Recommendation to ABIM Council of Candidates for the Specialty Board

Each year, ABIM initiates the process to recruit for openings on the Specialty Boards; each member serves a three-year term with the option for one renewal, and positions open on a rolling basis each year. Openings are posted publicly on the website and shared with stakeholder groups. Upon completion of the application process, the Specialty Board chair reviews all applications and asks members of the Specialty Board to conduct candidate interviews and make recommendations. Special attention is paid to the composition of each Specialty Board, such as practice setting and region, career stage, educational background (U.S., international) and race and ethnicity. Final selections are made by the ABIM Council based on the Specialty Board’s top two recommendations.

At the spring meeting, the Infectious Disease Board discussed the most recent opening for an infectious disease specialist for a term beginning July 1, 2024. The opening was posted on ABIM’s website in December 2023 and applications were accepted until January 8, with a record number received for this one position. The Specialty Board members discussed the candidates they had interviewed and voted on two to recommend to the Council.

Following the meeting, the Council appointed Raghavendra Tirupathi, MD, FACP, FRCP, FIDSA, FAPCR, FRSPH, of Keystone Infectious Disease/HIV, Keystone Health and the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania, to serve as a new member of the Infectious Disease Board starting in July.

Look for emails this summer announcing openings on the Infectious Disease Board for 2025. Visit ABIM’s website for a full list of current openings.

New Proposal for ABIM’s Approved Quality Improvement (AQI) Program

The AQI Program is the process through which ABIM recognizes externally developed quality improvement activities that physicians are doing in practice. It also allows diplomates to earn MOC points for activities that support their local improvement priorities. Approved activities grant 20 MOC points to physicians who meaningfully participate in the activity. Specialty Board member Jorgelina T. de Sanctis, MD, FACP, FIDSA, reviewed the following proposal for the program and provided her recommendation for approval pending clarification on some questions:

  • “MRSA [methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus] point-of-care diagnostics linked to vancomycin use,” sponsored by Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The activity will aim to address the longer culture-based tests for MRSA and MSSA [methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus] with more rapid assessments of nasal carriage for infection control.

After a brief discussion, the Infectious Disease Board voted to conditionally approve the AQI proposal for MOC credit, pending additional information from the applicant. Following the meeting, that information was provided and the proposal fully approved, giving credit to the lead physician who facilitated the activity.

ABIM welcomes proposals from sponsors that may include medical specialty societies, hospitals or departments within hospitals, medical groups, clinics or other health-related organizations that wish to approve a single activity. Organizations with a quality improvement activity to submit to ABIM for MOC credit recognition are encouraged to take the following steps: 

  1. Download the ABIM AQI Program Guide (PDF). 
  2. Download and complete the AQI Application (PDF). 
  3. Email completed applications to mocprograms@abim.org.

New Ways to Recognize Diplomates for Their Commitment to MOC

ABIM is exploring new ways to recognize physicians who participate in the MOC program. This includes finding new ways 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 Specialty Board including a number of proposed tactics for early consideration, inviting their feedback and reactions on how diplomates want to be recognized and what forms of recognition are most impactful for physicians.

Members of the Infectious Disease Board shared reflections and suggestions on the concept of recognition, agreeing that most physicians view certification as a necessary part in the process of becoming a doctor. Members discussed how, currently, there is no additional recognition for the process of staying current. Some suggested that tangible forms of recognition are encouraging gestures to recognize diplomates’ efforts, like wearable items (e.g., lapel pins, lab coat patches) or display items (e.g., printed certificates or press releases) similar to what ABIM currently includes in its welcome kit for newly certified diplomates. Others opined that public, informative campaigns targeting patients would be more meaningful forms of recognition. Members suggested developing educational materials about the value of certification and better highlighting certified physicians on the ABIM website to inform patient audiences, particularly as most of the public does not understand what certification entails or whether their physician is certified. They also pointed out that diplomates who maintain multiple certificates (common in infectious disease) should be rewarded for the added effort so that they feel valued.

In Closing

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

Do you have any questions?

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

Join ABIM Governance

The Infectious Disease Board has two openings for terms beginnings July 1, 2025:

In addition, the ABIM Council has three openings for terms beginning July 1, 2025:

Applications are due July 22, 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.

*Indicates society guests were present for this session.

ABIM governance, Erica Johnson, IDSA, infectious disease, Infectious Disease Board, Summary Report

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