How big of a burden are MOC and board certification for neurology?

[deleted978973]

Current OMS2 with a growing interest in neuro. Been reading about some of the stuff going on with other specialty boards and they sound pretty bad. It sounds like everything with MOC and BC are entering a period of change and might be radically different in 6 years but I'm still curious.

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[NOSfan]

Current OMS2 with a growing interest in neuro. Been reading about some of the stuff going on with other specialty boards and they sound pretty bad. It sounds like everything with MOC and BC are entering a period of change and might be radically different in 6 years but I'm still curious.

Have undergone MOC re-certification exam x 1 and currently in MOC 'maintenance.' Quite frankly, the MOC is a complete waste of time and just another onerous burden on physicians that is $$$$ boom for our certification organizations.

Just to name a few on-going requirements: MOC CME, MOC PIP, MOC SA, state opioid specific CME, state fluoroscopic license with ongoing CME, hospital safety program, hospital cultural-bias program, hospital sedation program, section specific conferences and general medical staff conference requirements just to name a few.

Finally, as you can see from the attached 990, the ABPN president made 2.9 MILLION Dollars in 2017 heading the organization. How many Neurologists are making that practicing and trying to fulfill their MOC duties?

 

[deleted978973]

Have undergone MOC re-certification exam x 1 and currently in MOC 'maintenance.' Quite frankly, the MOC is a complete waste of time and just another onerous burden on physicians that is $$$$ boom for our certification organizations.

Just to name a few on-going requirements: MOC CME, MOC PIP, MOC SA, state opioid specific CME, state fluoroscopic license with ongoing CME, hospital safety program, hospital cultural-bias program, hospital sedation program, section specific conferences and general medical staff conference requirements just to name a few.

Finally, as you can see from the attached 990, the ABPN president made 2.9 MILLION Dollars in 2017 heading the organization. How many Neurologists are making that practicing and trying to fulfill their MOC duties?

Is there any real effort among neurologists to change this?

 

[NOSfan]

Is there any real effort among neurologists to change this?

I believe the most concerted effort would be to join the:

National Board of Physicians and Surgeons

They are physician advocates committed to quality care and actively opposing the burdensome MOC monopoly.

 

[neurologist]

Current OMS2 with a growing interest in neuro. Been reading about some of the stuff going on with other specialty boards and they sound pretty bad. It sounds like everything with MOC and BC are entering a period of change and might be radically different in 6 years but I'm still curious.

The need for continuing medical education will never go away. Nor should it, as medicine changes and we all need to make an effort to stay current.
However, the current system of ensuring and monitoring that we do so (I.e., with highly micromanaged MOC programs and recert exams) is, frankly, overly complex, costly, and introduces many irrelevant components to the process.
That being said, you are correct about it being in transition. I suspect that formal board recert exams, for instance, will go away in the not too distant future. They will probably be replaced by some system of largely “at your own pace” CME, to be accomplished within a certain timeframe. I suspect most docs would be ok with that, AS LONG AS the required work is a) relevant, b) not ridiculously expensive, c) easy to track and distribution of requirements is not overly complex, and d) available from multiple sources, not a monopolistic medical board society.
But given the multiple range of interests who feel they need to “oversee” the medical profession, and the significant amount of $ at stake for the specialty boards, the Cynical Me has little confidence that those 4 criteria will be met.

 

[Hank Rearden]

Yes, I just did my 10 year recert through ABPN's pilot program where you read 30 articles and have to get at least 4/5 multiple choice questions correct for each one. Since I only see stroke patients, most of these articles were not that helpful to my practice. Nonetheless, I felt this was much better use of my time than studying for a board exam. I agree that the current system is a money grab. The NBPS is a great alternative, but unfortunately is not recognized as official board certification in most states. As a result if you are not board certified by ABPN you cannot get reimbursed, and therefore can't practice. The answer is to move to Oklahoma where NBPS is recognized - there may be a few other states that have joined this list as well.