AMA directed to examine recertification

Some doctors say the process can be costly, burdensome and not relevant to current practice environments; others found it important in terms of professional value.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. July 9/16, 2001.

Chicago -- Throughout much of the medical community, recertification is viewed as a way to assess a doctor's competence and to help improve the care of patients. But some doctors say it taxes their time and creates a burden on their practice.

Responding to physician concerns about the process, the AMA House of Delegates at last month's Annual Meeting in Chicago asked the Board of Trustees to study issues surrounding it.

Among the specifics the board has been charged to consider are recertification's minimal burden, general applicability to all specialties, cost effectiveness, relevancy, potential economic impact, inclusion of practicing physicians, acknowledgment of regional differences in medical practices, avoidance of potential discrimination against lifetime certificate holders, impact on physicians with multiple board certifications and avoidance of duplication.

Delegates asked that the board report back to them in June 2002. The board likely will ask one of its councils to study the matter.

The direction resulted from a series of proposals asking the AMA to encourage the American Board of Internal Medicine to reconsider its recertification Continuous Professional Development program to take into account the needs of practicing internists; to support the American College of Physicians--American Society of Internal Medicine's dialogue with the ABIM to modify the recertification process; and to endorse a more standardized recertification process that incorporates technological advances such as online resources. [...]