MOC (maintenance of certification) by the ABR (American Board of Radiology) is fairly confusing especially for recent grads and residents wondering about what will be required after initial board certification. So I will put it out there as I see it in plain English.
MOC by the ABR requires four parts that need to be done starting January 1st and done before March 1st after you become board certified. You have to also pay an annual MOC fee to the ABR every year by March 1st that is currently $340.
Part 1: Requires a valid, unrestricted medical licensure in all states where you practice. This basically means you sign onto your ABR account and state that yes I have a state valid medical license no proof is asked for. This is done yearly.
Part 2: CME (continuing medical education) and SA (self-assessment). 75 continuing medical education (CME) credits, at least 25 of which are self-assessment, are not due until you have been enrolled in MOC for 3 calendar years. You get CME and SA CME credits for attending things like ASTRO and the ASTRO Refresher or other such academic/educational type things or even reading journal articles approved for credit like those in the red journal. You should be given a certificate saying how much credit was earned for each of these activities. The SA-CME credits are basically activities that have a short 5 or so question test after the activity is completed where you need to answer 80% of the question correctly to receive credit. All of these certificates should be permanently saved as you earn them in case you are audited.
Part 3: OLA (online longitudinal assessment) is a continuous assessment in which diplomates involved in MOC (maintenance of certification) will participate every year throughout their careers. OLA is a progressive online assessment that will replace the previous proctored MOC Exam required every 10 years. So basically you log into the ABR account and you have 2 multiple choice questions to answer each week. For radiation oncology you need to answer a minimum of 52 questions per year. If you are meeting the annual OLA progress requirement, your SA-CME portion will be reduced to 15 credits.
Part 4: Participation in PQI (practice quality improvement) activity, as defined by the ABR, is not due until you have been enrolled in MOC for 3 calendar years. Basically you need to find a project to work on and implement as detailed here:
PQI Project Resources: The ABR has worked with societies to develop a wide selection of qualified PQI projects with templates to guide diplomates through initiation and completion. Many societies are also working to develop centralized databases for these projects, which ultimately can be used...
www.theabr.org
You do not need to submit anything to the ABR unless you are selected for an MOC Audit. If selected for an audit, the ABR will provide you with the necessary information to document your PQI Project or Participatory Activity.
Time limited board certification in radiation oncology started in 1995. If you were board certified before then you don't have to worry about any of this, Bonus for the old docs.
