Testing, testing: For doctors, it never ends

More physicians are finding that board recertification has evolved into a continuous certification process.

By Damon Adams, AMNews staff. Sept. 27, 2004.

Family physician Tony Golden, MD, has been through board recertification three times. He isn't sure he can stomach a fourth one.

"I've seriously questioned doing it again," said Dr. Golden, who practices in Idaho Falls, Idaho.

Board-certified family physicians go through recertification every seven years, but Dr. Golden and other doctors are facing a new era in recertification. In 2000, medical specialty boards agreed to transition their recertification programs into maintenance-of-certification processes, which focus on continuous lifelong learning.

For most physicians, this new focus means more frequent testing of their knowledge until they are recertified. For example, family physicians must undergo six self-assessment modules to evaluate medical knowledge and judgment. The American Board of Family Practice recommends that diplomates complete one module per year rather than do them all near the end of the seven-year cycle. Internists must complete five self-evaluation modules in their 10-year recertification cycle, which would mean doing a module every two years to stay on pace, doctors said.

Some doctors are balking. They say the process is burdensome because too-frequent testing taxes their time. They also think the testing is too expensive. And they question whether the tests apply to their daily practice.

"I've never had a single patient ask me if I was board certified, and I'm not seeing a lack of trust among patients I see," said Dr. Golden, who has practiced for 25 years. "It's just one other thing to dump on the head of the practicing doctor to distract us from our job of taking care of patients."