The Pulse
COVID-19 and CME Requirements: What You Need to Know
Category: Continuing Education, Physicians
IN A NUTSHELL:
- CME requirements waived in some states
- Other states reduced required credits for 2020
- Credits earned in 2020 might not roll over to 2021
The Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States (FSMB) recently released updated state-by-state guidelines concerning Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The FSMB is a national non-profit organization that represents the 71 state medical and osteopathic boards of the United States and its territories and co-sponsors the United States Medical Licensing Examination.
The new requirements vary depending upon which state the physician practices medicine in. The FSMB along with state medical boards recognize the difficulty licensees may have meeting the annual continuing medical education requirement in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some states will make all licensees (MD/DO/PA/AA) exempt for 2020 from the annual requirement to earn the standard number of credits for license renewal. Other states have decided to reduce the annual credit requirement by a specified margin and many states will not conduct a compliance audit for CME credits in 2020.
It is important to note that even if a health care provider earned the standard number of CME credit hours in 2020, not every state will allow credits earned in 2020 to be rolled over to 2021 to meet the 2022 license renewal requirement.
To see the updated CME course requirements for your state and to take courses tailored toward your license, visit the Ready Doc™ Learning section of our website.
Benefits of Accredited Continuing Medical Education Courses:
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education is one of the primary organizations that has stringent guidelines to ensure CME courses meet the necessary health care industry standards.
Accredited CME is designed to be relevant to the needs of the health care professional: practice-based, and effective. Participation in accredited CME also helps physicians meet requirements for maintenance of licensure, maintenance of certification, credentialing, membership in professional societies, and a variety of other professional privileges. Take a course now!
The ACCME as well as the American Medical Association define CME as “educational activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. The content of CME is that body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public.”
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