Comment period opens on creation of independent certification board of CV medicine
Key takeaways:
- The comment period has opened on a proposal to create a certification board specific to cardiovascular medicine.
- Cardiology societies have created an initial board of directors for the proposed new board.
Progress has been made in the creation of a new independent Board of Cardiovascular Medicine under the American Board of Medical Specialties, several cardiology societies announced.
The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Advisory Board on Specialty Board Development has announced a 90-day comment period on the subject, and the cardiology societies — the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the Heart Failure Society of America, the Heart Rhythm Society and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions — have created a formal board of directors for the proposed new board, according to a press release issued by each of the societies.
For more than 80 years, cardiology has been incorporated into the American Board of Internal Medicine.
The comment period, which will last until July 24, is designed to help ABMS gauge support for the new board and determine what the impact to clinicians and patients might be, according to the release.
As Healio previously reported, the cardiology societies announced in September that they would undertake an effort to create an independent board for CV medicine. The announcement came after complaints that the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) maintenance of certification (MOC) system requirements were onerous and do not improve competency while charging cardiologists excessive fees.
“The open comment period is the time for cardiovascular physicians, allies in other medical specialties, patients, and others to make their voices heard on why an independent CV Board is the best path for cardiologists to stay up-to-date on best practices and evidence-based care, ensuring patients receive the best possible care,” Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, the Lorinda and Vincent de Roulet Professor of Medicine and chair of the department of cardiology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and president of the proposed board’s new board of directors, said in the release. “The field of cardiovascular medicine has evolved dramatically over the past few decades; now is the right time to develop an independent cardiovascular board.”
The other nine initial members of the proposed new board are Mark H. Drazner, MD (treasurer), Peter L. Duffy, MD, David P. Faxon, MD, Edward T. A. Fry, MD, Judith S. Hochman, MD, Jodie L. Hurwitz, MD (secretary), Michelle Maya Kittleson, MD, Daniel M. Kolansky, MD, and Gregory F. Michaud, MD. Five more members will be announced later, according to the release.
The roles of the initial directors include crafting bylaws that outline the board’s structure and decision-making processes, establishing committees to manage specific board processes and subspecialties, developing a budget, managing financial processes and defining a tailored continuous competency certification process, according to the release.
The ABMS comment page can be viewed here. For more information, visit cvboard.org.
Perspective
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Especially given how unresponsive the ABIM has demonstrated itself to be despite adequate forewarning of all of the issues surrounding its current certification and especially the MOC processes, this was a natural result. Even though the details of the new board certification and continuing competency assessments are not well known, given the stakeholders involved, I have very high hopes that this will be a welcome development for our field.
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