The business of MOC

[McConaughey]

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.tim...ors-maintenance-certification-moc-health-care


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[seper]

I figure senior ABR RadOnc figures make 10-20K yearly on the process (just a wild guess).

 

[Chartreuse Wombat]

I figure senior ABR RadOnc figures make 10-20K yearly on the process (just a wild guess).

A wild guess indeed. ABR Board members are volunteers. They receive no compensation except for expenses associated with attending meetings. You should be more careful attacking the integrity of others when you are ignorant of the facts.

 

[seper]

Sorry, but this was not an attack. 10-20 K would have been very much appropriate, as opposed to numbers listed in the link.

 

[Chartreuse Wombat]

Right. Your wild guess was completely wrong.

 

[scarbrtj]

The ABR does very well. About $45 million in assets and $16+ million in annual revenue. Pays about 13 people $100+ K a year. Only rad onc I (publicly) know of making money on the ABR is Wallner at about $270K/year. I make no judgment as to whether that's "appropriate."

https://pp-990.s3.amazonaws.com/201...5f292b29f571e652770299853d8d3b8e1670f8aba9ed5

 

[emt409]

Right. Your wild guess was completely wrong.

Here is a snapshot of the ABR's 2015 990 form. They pay out about 5.5 million per year in salaries. There are 4 directors, and 17 staff members listed on their website currently. Since I doubt everyone is averaging 261k/year, a few people are doing VERY well.

 

[Mandelin Rain]

Here is a snapshot of the ABR's 2015 990 form. They pay out about 5.5 million per year in salaries. There are 4 directors, and 17 staff members listed on their website currently. Since I doubt everyone is averaging 261k/year, a few people are doing VERY well.

You didn't include the 1.16 million in non-salary comp in your figure. Brings it to about 6.6 million in compensation; split evenly 21 ways is an annual average of $314k in compensation.

Suffice to say, a very few people have a highly significant vested interest in protecting the "Business of MOC" as the OP called it, despite the claims of altruistic/charitable time donations.

 

[radiaterMike]

Definitely outrageous although I suspect there are far more than 21 employees. i.e. staff who don’t make the web site. Also the comment above by CW that there are folks who donate their time is likely true. The 990 form lists the highest earners and those with executive functions.

That being said many (most?) state licenses require CME. Whether there is a need to require SA-CME, “cognitive assessment” and quality improvement - necessitating the inflated bureaucracy of these boards for MOC is debatable. I wonder how inflated these salaries and budgets are relative to the pre-MOC era. Presumably that would be a gauge of the “business of MOC” relative to the business of initial certification. I suspect it is disproportionately high now compared to then.

 

[Chartreuse Wombat]

At the risk of being labeled as an ABR sycophant...I am a volunteer for ABR writing items for the written test, participating in the Angoff procedure and an oral examiner although I am not a Board member nor do I hold any leadership positions on the written/oral exam committees. My original post was to push back against the idea that ABR trustees were paid. I have been to the ABR offices in Tucson on many occasions. I did not count but I am confident that there are more than 21 employees that work there full time. Someone needs to answer the phones, etc. Plus the executives of ABR do this as a full time job. If you compare the level of reimbursement for ABR executives it is much lower than (for example) ABIM executives. As has been made clear over several years the ABIM made lots of mistakes. The ABR is not blameless but in many instances they can only respond to the ABMS dictates. I think the changes in Part IV requirements that the ABR has made over the last decade lifts a significant burden from busy practitioners. The "test" for MOC will change as well (I think for the better).

MOC may be a business but I much prefer that radiation oncologists pull the strings rather than ignorant, nanny-staters who spend time in the nation's capital.

 

[seper]

these numbers made me angry for a minute, but then I remembered that ABR certifies vast numbers of radiologists.

 

[radiaterMike]

and physicists (radiology and rad onc)