The doctor cannot see you now… he’s studying for a pointless exam.
Physicians are finally standing up and saying no. In last week’s New England Journal of Medicine (Jan 8, 2015), 2 opposing articles were published. The first one was submitted by Mira Irons, MD and Lois Nora, MD, both paid members of the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) leadership team, extolling the virtues of the MOC (Maintenance of Certification). It is interesting to note that they reported no conflict of interests, despite being on the ABMS payroll, the institution that stands to gain tens of millions of dollars a year from the MOC requirements. The second was written by Dr. Paul Teirstein, eviscerating the MOC requirements, and staying one step short of flatly accusing the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine) of extortion. The 2 articles can be found here:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1409923#t=article
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1407422
Dr. Teirstein also started a website where physicians can sign a Pledge of Noncompliance, or an Anti-MOC petition.
http://nomoc.org/
The Pledge of Noncompliance has over 6,000 signatures, and the Anti-MOC petition has over 21,000.
On forums, comment sections, and message boards, practically every commenting physician supports this anti-MOC campaign, for the very reasons Dr. Teirstein points out in his article. There is no evidence that it makes one a better physician, it is extremely time consuming and costly, and the hordes of money the boards are making off this raises some very serious ethical questions about the boards motives.
Many physicians, including myself, cannot afford to forego board certification at this time, as many of my contracts are dependent on board certification. The ABPMR (American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) can essentially make up whatever requirements with whatever charges they want, and I am held hostage to this extortion. Last year, ABPMR filed tax returns with profits of over 8 million dollars.
One week following Dr. Teirstein’s NEJM article, he founded a new alternative to the ABMS, the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (https://nbpas.org/), which relies on traditional CME’s for maintaining accreditation, and is much more reasonably priced ($169 every 2 years, irrespective of the number of specialty applications). Only time will tell whether or not this new board will be accepted by hospitals and insurance companies. If the current entities with which I have contracts do eventually accept it, I will have no problem dropping the words “ABPMR board-certified” from my CV.
I strongly urge everyone to sign the above listed petitions.
Physicians are finally standing up and saying no. In last week’s New England Journal of Medicine (Jan 8, 2015), 2 opposing articles were published. The first one was submitted by Mira Irons, MD and Lois Nora, MD, both paid members of the ABMS (American Board of Medical Specialties) leadership team, extolling the virtues of the MOC (Maintenance of Certification). It is interesting to note that they reported no conflict of interests, despite being on the ABMS payroll, the institution that stands to gain tens of millions of dollars a year from the MOC requirements. The second was written by Dr. Paul Teirstein, eviscerating the MOC requirements, and staying one step short of flatly accusing the ABIM (American Board of Internal Medicine) of extortion. The 2 articles can be found here:
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1409923#t=article
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1407422
Dr. Teirstein also started a website where physicians can sign a Pledge of Noncompliance, or an Anti-MOC petition.
http://nomoc.org/
The Pledge of Noncompliance has over 6,000 signatures, and the Anti-MOC petition has over 21,000.
On forums, comment sections, and message boards, practically every commenting physician supports this anti-MOC campaign, for the very reasons Dr. Teirstein points out in his article. There is no evidence that it makes one a better physician, it is extremely time consuming and costly, and the hordes of money the boards are making off this raises some very serious ethical questions about the boards motives.
Many physicians, including myself, cannot afford to forego board certification at this time, as many of my contracts are dependent on board certification. The ABPMR (American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) can essentially make up whatever requirements with whatever charges they want, and I am held hostage to this extortion. Last year, ABPMR filed tax returns with profits of over 8 million dollars.
One week following Dr. Teirstein’s NEJM article, he founded a new alternative to the ABMS, the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (https://nbpas.org/), which relies on traditional CME’s for maintaining accreditation, and is much more reasonably priced ($169 every 2 years, irrespective of the number of specialty applications). Only time will tell whether or not this new board will be accepted by hospitals and insurance companies. If the current entities with which I have contracts do eventually accept it, I will have no problem dropping the words “ABPMR board-certified” from my CV.
I strongly urge everyone to sign the above listed petitions.
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