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Make board, maintenance of certification programs transparent
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To the Editor:
This letter is in response to your June 2014 article, “Options quickly expand for ODs seeking board, maintenance of certification” (pages 1, 10, 12 and 13). The Optometric Society supports lifelong learning and the maintenance of the knowledge necessary for the highest level of care. However, we are concerned that board certification-maintenance of certification programs will develop into an expensive mandate, profitable only to the boards that provide the certification. Without proper oversight, accountability and “checks and balances,” these programs can become self-serving, with powerful control over the ability to practice optometry.
Nationwide, physicians from many specialties oppose the American Board of Medical Specialties’ (ABMS’) maintenance of certification (MOC) process, described as burdensome, costly and clinically irrelevant. The Change Board Recertification movement cites the board’s unwillingness to compromise on any level, ignoring the collective voice of the practicing physician to reform MOC.
In June 2013, members of the American Medical Association House of Delegates adopted resolutions aimed directly at ABMS. These resolutions included opposition to mandatory and discriminatory MOC, as well as a call for increased transparency through published reports on revenue, expenses and salaries of board members and staff. Such a call is also appropriate for the optometric board certification (BC) programs. Yearly tax returns should become available before they are a part of the public record. We should be given the opportunity to make public comment and ask questions. BC-MOC programs should not be immune to such scrutiny. Participation will only be encouraged when the programs clearly serve our professional interest, as well as that of our patients.
Lisa Shin, OD
The Optometric Society