ABIM answers questions about alternative MOC assessment

The American Board of Internal Medicine revealed plans to offer a new Maintenance of Certification assessment option in May, providing physicians with "a choice of pathways to maintain their certification over the course of their career."

In a new blog post, Richard J. Baron, MD, MACP, president and CEO of ABIM, answered questions about the assessment process that physicians have raised in various discussions.

Baron explained that the new assessment option will be a "maintenance pathway" and will be available to doctors who are already certified.

This means that physicians with expired certifications or physicians whose certifications will expire before the new assessments are available will have to pass the traditional MOC exam before they are eligible for the alternative option.

"It will enable certified physicians to maintain their certification by taking shorter assessments with more continuous feedback throughout their career on their home or office computers," he said. "If a physician meets a performance standard consistently, he or she will not need to take the long-form MOC exam to remain certified."

ABIM is currently considering two timelines for the shorter assessments: Every 2 years and every 5 years, Baron wrote.

Physicians who fail two consecutive shorter exams will be required to take the longer-form assessment at a testing center.

"If successful on the long-form MOC exam, the physician will again be able to take the shorter assessments," Baron said. "If a physician is not successful on subsequent attempts of the long-form exam during the next exam cycle, he or she will lose certification."

Baron also noted that the Open Book Research Study is ongoing and called for physicians to contribute any ideas or insights via email or future surveys.