CONNECTICUT - CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME)

1. How many hours of Continuing Medical Education are required each year?

Effective October 1, 2005, the Connecticut State Medical Society requires licensed physicians to earn a minimum of fifty contact hours of qualifying continuing medical education every two years commencing on the first date of license renewal after October 1, 2007. One contact hour means a minimum of fifty minutes of continuing education activities.

2. How will a physician know which courses to take?

3. What physician activities qualify as continuing medical education?

Qualifying activities include, but are not limited to, courses offered or approved by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, Connecticut Hospital Association, Connecticut State Medical Society, county medical societies or equivalent organizations in other jurisdictions, educational offerings sponsored by a hospital or other health care institution or courses offered by a regionally accredited academic institution or a state or local health department.

44. How will the Connecticut Department of Health know whether a physician has completed the necessary hours of CME?

Each licensee applying for license renewal will be asked to attest that the licensee satisfies the continuing education requirements. Certificates of completion should not be mailed to the Department unless a licensee is specifically directed to do so.

5. Are there any exemptions for CME?

A licensee applying for license renewal for the first time is exempt from the continuing education requirements until the licensee's next registration period. Registration period means the one-year period for which a license has been renewed.

A licensee who is not engaged in active professional practice in any form or who has a medical disability or illness may be exempt from the continuing medical education requirements, provided the licensee submits to the Department, prior to the expiration of the registration period, a notarized application for exemption. Active professional practice includes, but is not limited to, activities of a currently licensed physician who functions as a medical director of a managed care organization or other organization. Registration period means the one-year period for which a license has been renewed.

6. What procedures must be followed upon a physician's return to active professional practice?

Any licensee who is exempt from continuing medical education requirements for less than two years shall be required to complete twenty-five contact hours of qualifying continuing medical education within the twelve months immediately preceding the licensee's return to active professional practice. Any licensee who is exempt for two or more years shall be required to successfully complete the Special Purpose Examination (SPEX) administered by the Federation of State Medical Boards prior to returning to active practice.

7. What are the requirements for reporting CME?

Each licensee shall retain records of attendance that demonstrate compliance with the continuing education requirements, and shall retain such documentation for a minimum of three years following the year in which the continuing education activities were completed. Upon the request of the Department, a licensee shall submit records or certificates of completion of continuing medical education within 45 days of such request.

8. What is the penalty for not completing CME requirements?

A licensee who fails to comply with the continuing education requirements, including failure to maintain proof of course completion, is subject to disciplinary action.

Connecticut Department of Health website, "Physician Licensure, Continuing Medical Education"

Copyright Kern Augustine Conroy and Schoppmann, P.C. Used with permission.