ABIM eliminates two-year points requirement for MOC

The American Board of Internal Medicine announced that it is eliminating the requirement to complete Maintenance of Certification points every-two-years effective immediately. The new ABIM President and CEO Furman S. McDonald, M.D., M.P.H., made the announcement about the change October 28.

As a result of the policy change, nearly 12,000 physicians certified by ABIM who are currently reported as “Certified, Not Participating in MOC,” due to missing the two-year point requirement will have their status updated to “Certified, Participating in MOC,” as long as all other MOC requirements are met, according to the organization.

“Physicians across all disciplines were clear that the two-year point requirement is confusing and did not provide added value,” said McDonald, who became president September 1.

“ABIM is committed to listening to physician feedback on our programs and streamlining the process wherever possible,” said McDonald. “This is one thing we feel we can eliminate and simplify without compromising the value of the MOC program.”

ABIM is currently updating the Physician Portal and ABIM.org to reflect these changes, and affected diplomates will receive an email notification once the updates are completed.

The requirement to earn 100 MOC points every five years to be reported as certified and participating in MOC still remains in effect.

MOC can be earned in various ways, including participating in the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment, which earns up to 24 points annually, according to ABIM. Physicians can take the traditional, 10-year MOC exam, which grants 20 points. They can participate in certain CME activities that are also eligible for MOC points. They can earn up to 100 points by becoming ABIM-certified in a subspecialty for the first time.