Interventional cardiologists call out ABIM for ‘unfair and unjustified’ certification policies
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has issued a new statement urging the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) to rethink its maintenance of certification (MOC) policies. The organization, home to more than 4,500 interventional cardiologists, says some of its members have seen their privileges “threatened and even revoked” despite passing the necessary exams and reporting procedural volumes as required.
According to the SCAI statement, ABIM has linked certification status with yearly MOC participation in a way that could potentially have a negative impact on patient care. The two organizations have previously worked together to ensure cardiologists have more options when working to meet MOC requirements, but SCAI says ABIM has changed course by requiring interventional cardiologists to complete their assessment “through a very complex process,” achieve 100 self-assessment points every five years, and perform a predetermined number of procedures every five years, all to keep ABIM certification for the full 10-year window. Failing to meet these requirements can lead to a loss of certification.
“This situation unacceptably exacerbates the interventional cardiology workforce shortage and threatens to directly impact the care of patients suffering life threatening cardiovascular emergencies,” according to a new SCAI statement. “It is the position of SCAI that the ABIM must immediately abandon its complex practice and stop mixing nonparticipation in MOC with ‘not certified’ status.”
SCAI concluded its statement by saying its members “must be protected” from ABIM’s pattern of making changes to the certification status of interventional cardiologists based on MOC participation.
“Simple and credible rules are advisable, while a labyrinth of regulations is both unfair and unjustified,” the group concluded.
ABIM shares its own perspective on SCAI’s statement
When Cardiovascular Business reached out to ABIM for comment, the organization—a nonprofit group that oversees certifications in 20 different healthcare specialties—said its MOC policies have remained unchanged for the last 10 years. ABIM also pushed back on SCAI’s concerns about interventional cardiologists unfairly losing their privileges.
“No physician loses certification without being notified several times about what requirements they need to fulfill in order to remain certified,” an ABIM spokesperson said. “Physicians who have MOC points due by the end of the year receive several reminder emails, and this information is also available on the dashboard of their physician portal.”
The group also clarified that it reports on every physician’s certification status and MOC participation separately, noting that “there are circumstances in which a diplomate can be simultaneously reported as ‘certified’ and ‘not participating in MOC.’”
On the topic of costs, ABIM told Cardiovascular Business that interventional cardiologists pay an annual fee for each certificate they maintain and then pay additional fees if they choose to take an assessment in a test center.
“The annual MOC fee for the first certificate maintained is $220,” the ABIM spokesperson said. “Any additional certificate being maintained has a fee of $120 per year. Access to the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment is included at no additional cost for each certificate being maintained.”
More information on ABIM certification for interventional cardiologists
Additional information from ABIM on certification for interventional cardiologists is available here and here. Details about the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway for cardiovascular disease, a collaboration between ABIM and the American College of Cardiology, can be found here.
Michael has more than 18 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.