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ABIM is committed to listening and engaging with physicians and others in the internal medicine community about how we can improve our programs. Check out the progress we have made and the further action we are planning based on the feedback we’ve received so far:

Changes We’ve Already Implemented

Points & Requirements

More CME Counts for MOC

Working with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), we increased the available options for earning Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points. Thousands of activities physicians already participate in such as grand rounds, conferences, case discussions, and reading medical journals now earn both MOC points and CME credits. Learn More

Underlying Certification Rule Changes

Beginning January 1, 2016, physicians certified in nine subspecialties of internal medicine no longer need to maintain underlying certifications to stay certified. Learn More

Assessment Enhancements

Grace Period Instituted

Physicians who take and fail an MOC assessment may be eligible for a 1-year grace period before they lose their certification. In addition, they pay 50% less on their first re-take exam. Learn More

New Exam Blueprint

ABIM invited physicians to provide their feedback on what they believe is important to know in practice. ABIM also used national data on condition prevalence to inform the blueprint. Then ABIM used it to create a new blueprint and update the Internal Medicine MOC Exam. Learn More

Standard Setting Review

When exam blueprints and therefore exam content gets significantly updated, what counts as a passing score also needs to be reset. ABIM is broadening the input into the standard setting process by using panels that include both practicing physicians and members of each specialty’s exam committee. Learn More

Enhanced Exam Score Report

ABIM researchers interviewed physicians to develop an enhanced exam score report that provides better explanation of exam results and identifies specific areas for further study from the questions that were missed. Learn More

Diplomate Engagement

Community Engagement Department Established

ABIM formed the Community Engagement department to engage with and listen to the internal medicine community and individual physician’s feedback regarding ways to improve MOC. Learn More

Diplomates Surveyed

ABIM invited all diplomates with a valid email address (N=195,867) to tell us what they thought about proposed changes to the 10-year assessment. We heard a lot from our community, and this feedback will help us as we move forward to develop new assessment methods with physicians. Learn More

More Changes We’re Working On

Assessment Enhancements

New MOC Assessment Option Launching

In 2018, we plan to begin offering a new MOC assessment option. ABIM’s assessment taken every 10 years will remain available, and both options will reflect the input ABIM has received from a diverse range of physicians and stakeholders over the past year. Learn More

External Resources Study

ABIM has launched a study to look at the use of external resources during assessments (also called “Open Book”). About 1,000 physicians volunteered to participate in the summer 2016 study. The results will be made public later this year. Learn More

Points & Requirements

More CME for MOC to be Approved

ABIM plans to continue to find ways to recognize clinically meaningful activities physicians are already doing, such as participation in health system improvement activities or subspecialty society registries for MOC credit. This is an effort to decrease redundancy and increase efficiency for our physicians. Learn More

Tell us what you think so we can design programs that physicians find meaningful. Share your thoughts by emailing rbaronmd@abim.org and subscribe to the Transforming ABIM blog to stay informed.