Article XX. Osteopathic Continuous Certification In Family Medicine AND OMT

Transcription

1 Article XX. Osteopathic Continuous Certification In Family Medicine AND OMT SECTION 1: RATIONALE AND PURPOSE The American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians(AOBFP), in accordance with the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) Board of Trustees adopted Resolution 47, A/05, and Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (BOS) recommendations, has adopted the policy that certification should be a continuous process rather than a single event. Therefore, the AOBFP has instituted mandatory Osteopathic Continuous Certification (OCC) for physicians holding timelimited certification in the practice of Family Medicine and Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment. This is a process by which the American Osteopathic Board of Family Physicians (AOBFP) will assess its diplomates on an ongoing basis to ensure that family physicians remain current with standards of practice for Osteopathic Family Medicine. This process will provide family physicians CERTIFIED BY THE AOA with the opportunity to evaluate and improve their knowledge base and will facilitate the incorporation of evidence-based medicine into their practices. It includes components that occur on a continual basis throughout a nine-year cycle. Concepts such as management of chronic disease, patient safety, prevention and screening, and continuous quality improvement are embedded in the OCC process to affirm that the OSTEOPATHICALLY CERTIFIED Family Physician has demonstrated, using measurable indices, that quality patient care is being practiced. The goal of the process is to provide enhanced patient care and a consistent method for the evaluation of osteopathic medical care. Physicians receiving certification after January 1, 2013 will be required to complete the criteria designated for each nine- year cycle. Following successful completion of the OCC process, diplomates will have a new time-limited certificate issued. Failure to successfully complete the OCC process prior to the expiration of their current certificate will result in inactivation of certification. Individuals in this category will no longer be considered diplomates of the AOBFP and may not advertise or otherwise designate that they are certified. OCC will be strongly encouraged for those with non-time dated certification (certificates dated prior to March 1997). A transition schedule for moving those already certified/recertified by the current process into the OCC process is addressed later in this document. Updated Page 1 of 7

2 SECTION 2: CORE COMPETENCIES The core competencies that will be incorporated include: Osteopathic Philosophy and Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine, Medical Knowledge, Patient Care, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, Practice Based Learning and Improvement, and System- Based Practice. Assessment of the core competencies is specified below. 1. Osteopathic philosophy and application of manipulative medicine will be evaluated by responses to items on the proctored computerized examination (PCE), and the Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) performance examination (OMTPE). 2. Medical knowledge will be evaluated by responses to items on the PCE and on the post tests of the Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement modules. Questions will be updated on an ongoing basis to remain current with developments in the medical literature. 3. Patient care will be evaluated by responses to items on the PCE and on the post tests of the continuous assessment process, and practice performance data. 4. Interpersonal and communication skills will be assessed in a self-assessment module to be developed in concert with the AOA BOS. 5. Professionalism will be assessed by responses to items on the PCE as well as selfassessment modules addressing the topics of professional behavior, bio-medical ethics, and cultural competency. 6. Practice- based learning will be assessed in the Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement modules. The contents of the modules will be based on the principles of life-long learning with requirements of reading and assimilating -evidence-based medicine articles of reference, performing self-assessment of practice performance and receiving a score comparing each individual s practice to national standards. Physicians will then be required to reassess their practice competencies/outcomes after a period of time and will receive a quality improvement score. 7. Systems- based knowledge will be assessed by responses to items on the PCE or selfassessment modules. The areas of cost- effectiveness, patient safety and team approach to medical care will be evaluated. Updates Page 2 of 7

3 SECTION 3: REQUIREMENTS TO MAINTAIN CERTIFICATION A. In order to maintain certification, a diplomate with a time limited certificate must participate in OCC. Those diplomates with non-time limited certificates must adhere only to the requirements in component 1 and 2 of OCC. B. Maintenance of AOA certification in areas of added qualifications requires maintenance of valid primary AOA certification in osteopathic family medicine and OMT (2/96, 11/13) SECTION 4: REQUIREMENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN OCC PENDING APPROVAL BY BOS A. To enter the OCC process, the applicant must meet the following minimum eligibility requirements: a. Hold a valid AOA certification in Osteopathic Family Medicine and OMT, and a CAQ certificate if applicable b. Pay a one-time, nonrefundable application fee established by the BOS of the AOA. c. Pay an annual certification fee beginning January 1 of the year following acceptance into OCC. d. Conform to ethical and moral standards as set forth in the AOA Code of Ethics. B. Early entry during residency: a. A resident enrolled in an ACGME Osteopathically Focused Family Medicine residency may be provisionally may be enrolled in OCC prior to completion of training by meeting the following requirements: i. Sit for and pass the AOBFP in-service exams during years one and two of their residency. ii. Sit for and pass the early entry primary certification exam during year three of their residency. iii. Pass the AOBFP Certification performance exam during year three of their residency at the established fee. iv. Pay a one-time application fee. b. Effective date of OCC enrollment Updates Page 3 of 7

4 i. Upon satisfying the requirements in a. above, certification will be granted, and the individual will be officially enrolled in OCC. ii. The beginning of the OCC cycle will be January 1 of the year following the date on the diplomat s certificate. c. Residents who elect this option will: i. Pay no annual OCC fee during years 1-3 of their 1 st OCC cycle ii. Complete one professionalism OCC module as the only required component 4 activity during years 1-3 of their 1 st OCC cycle. iii. Pay the annual OCC fee beginning in year 4 of their first OCC cycle iv. All other OCC requirements will apply SECTION 5: COMPONENTS OF OCC OCC compliance/recertification will be achieved only after successful completion of all components. Component 1 Valid, Active Licensure A candidate must hold a valid, active license to practice medicine in a U.S. state, commonwealth, District of Columbia, or U.S. territory, or Canada. In addition, they are required to adhere to the AOA s Code of Ethics. Those physicians holding only an active license (or registration) to practice medicine outside the U.S. may be considered for OCC on a case by case basis. Primary source verification shall be conducted at entry into the OCC process and the beginning of each diplomate s OCC cycle Physicians with restrictions on their license will have their OCC file reviewed by the Certification Compliance Review (CCR) Committee of the BOS. More information on the CCR Committee is found in Article V, Section 7 of the Bylaws of the BOS Component 2 Lifelong Learning/Continuing Medical Education A candidate will maintain ongoing CME requirements validated by the AOA. A total of 150 hours during each 3- year CME cycle is required. Of these a minimum of 50 percent must be Category 1 CME. Twenty-five (25) hours must be AOA Category 1 A. CME hours will be awarded for completion of component 4 activities. Updates Page 4 of 7

5 Component 3 Cognitive Assessment - Part 1: Diplomates must successfully pass three (3) psychometrically valid, proctored, computerized examinations during each nine (9) year OCC cycle. Each exam will consist of multiple choice and case-based questions. These exams will be offered twice yearly at regional test sites located in the United States. The examination is based on the results of a work force task analysis conducted as a portion of the standards review process required by the Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists and tests knowledge and problem-solving ability relevant to family medicine. A diplomate must successfully pass exam 1 to be eligible to take exam 2. Exam 2 must be passed to be eligible to take exam 3. All exams must be completed by the beginning of year 8 of the diplomates OCC cycle. Part 2: The Osteopathic Manipulative Treatment (OMT) performance examination is required of every diplomate participating in OCC. This is a standardized assessment of a diplomate s competence in performing OMT. This will be offered at a minimum twice yearly. The diplomate must complete this OMT performance examination once in the nine (9) year certification cycle, and it may be taken up to two years prior to the completion of the cycle. Failure to pass both parts of the cognitive assessment by the end of the OCC cycle will result in the loss of certification. Diplomates who are unsuccessful in passing either part 1 or part 2 are allowed two retake examinations. If unsuccessful at the second retake, the Board will further review the diplomate s file and make appropriate recommendations A diplomate who has failed to successfully complete either part 1 or part 2 of their OCC component 3 process at the end of the 9-year period will be considered incomplete and their certification will be inactivated. The OCC cycle will not begin again until the candidate successfully completes part 1 and 2 of component 3, the cognitive examination, and is awarded recertification, as specified in the BOS reentry policy. The candidate would then be required to complete component 4 requirements within the specified time frame, as is required of all physicians in the OCC process. Component 4 Practice Performance Assessment and Improvement Diplomates must engage in continuous quality improvement in each three-year segment of the 9-year OCC cycle. Each diplomate must complete each of the requirements (a, b, and c) listed below during each 3 year segment of their OCC cycle. A. Completion of one (1) AOBFP virtual patient clinical encounter module each year. Updates Page 5 of 7

6 i. After completion of the educational unit portion of the module, the diplomate will complete an AOBFP web-based exam based on the module. ii. iii. iv. Results will be reported to the diplomate within the module. Module completion status will be recorded on the AOA physician portal. The AOBFP virtual modules the candidate completes for this section must be different from any other AOBFP virtual module already completed in the nine (9) year cycle B. Completion of a practice improvement module approved by AOBFP i. Option 1: Completion of an AOBFP OCCAP Module a. The diplomate will complete a web-based AOBFP approved educational unit referable to this module. b.after completion of the educational unit, the diplomate must pass an AOBFP web-based exam based on the educational unit for that module; c. Results will be reported to the diplomate within the module. d.module complete status will be recorded on the AOA physician portal. ii. Option 2: Attestation to or online submission of evidence of participation in a clinical quality improvement activity that may be subject to audit iii. Option 3: Completion of two (2) additional AOBFP virtual patient clinical encounter modules during each three-year segment. The AOBFP virtual modules the candidate completes for this section must be different from any other AOBFP virtual module already completed in the nine (9) year cycle C. Completion of one AOBFP approved professionalism OCC module. i. Example of currently available modules: a. Medication Safety Communication b.communication c. Cultural Competency If a candidate fails to meet the first 3- year cycle requirement, their certificate will be inactivated after the 4th year of their OCC process. If a candidate fails to meet the second 3-year cycle requirement, their certificate will be inactivated after the 7th year of their OCC process. During the phase-in period, no certificate will be inactivated due to falling behind on the three-year cycle requirement. Updates Page 6 of 7

7 SECTION 6: PHASE-IN REQUIREMENTS As of Jan. 1, 2021, this phase-in requirement will sunset. a. For those diplomates with certificate expiration dates in 2018, only B and C are required prior to their expiration date as follows: i. one (1) clinical practice improvement module (see options above), a. Physicians choosing option 3 will complete one (1) AOBFP virtual clinical encounter module. ii. one (1) professionalism module b. For those diplomates with certificate expiration dates in 2019, or 2020, completion of a, b, and c will be required prior to their expiration date as follows: i. Completion of two (2) AOBFP virtual patient clinical encounter modules ii. Completion of two (2) AOBFP clinical practice improvement modules (see options above) iii. Completion of two (2) professionalism modules Explanatory note: Virtual patient clinical encounter modules are being developed and will be available in 2018 OCC Reentry Process (As stated in BOS Policies & Procedures) Physicians whose time-limited certification has been deemed inactive for any reason may petition the Certification Compliance Review Committee to reactivate the certification. This process also applies to non-clinical and academic physicians reentering clinical practice and to former nontime-limited certificate holders who did not maintain their board certification as required. Physicians reentering the certification process within three (3) years of the expiration or inactivation of their certification may reenter the process by sufficing any outstanding OCC requirements not fulfilled when the certification became inactive. The date of certification will be effective on the date that all requirements have been satisfied. Physicians wishing to reenter the certification process three (3) or more years following the expiration or inactivation of their certification must take the AOBFP primary certification examination at the next available administration and immediately begin the OCC process through participation in a Component 4 activity. Additional remedial activities such as training or CME may be required by the AOBFP. Updates Page 7 of 7