With the ABIM still holding out on filing its FY 2017 Form 990’s for the ABIM and the ABIM Foundation, the newly-formed ABMS “Vision Commission” is serving as a distractor to what’s really happening behind the scenes. Instead of ending the corrupt Maintenance of Certification (MOC®) program, the ABMS and its colluding specialty societies are working feverishly to recruit willing doctors to build content so they can take the lucrative MOC® baton from the ABIM. It is abundantly clear to everyone that the ABIM is in a world of financial and legal hurt, and the ripple effects of their corruption are being felt across the ACGME and the US medical subspecialty society infrastructure. Here’s a copy of the letter the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) are circulating to carefully-selected individuals:
As you may know, The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has announced plans to offer new options for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) assessment beginning in January 2018. ABIM’s current 10-year exam will remain available as an assessment option for those seeking to maintain one or more Board certifications. In addition to the two MOC options offered directly, the ABIM has committed to working with three medical specialty societies – the ACC, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the American College of Physicians (ACP) – to explore development of additional collaborative maintenance pathways (CMPs) through which physicians can maintain board certification. The goal of this effort is to offer board certified physicians additional flexibility in how they can demonstrate to their peers and the public that they meet standards and are keeping their medical knowledge current.
The ACC has proposed an MOC option for cardiovascular medicine that uses enhanced versions of its Self-Assessment Program (SAP) collection (with a formal knowledge assessment function built into the products) as an alternative to taking the ABIM 10-year examination or the 2-year Knowledge Check-In series. The enhanced SAP collection would comprise ACCSAP (general cardiology), CathSAP (interventional cardiology), EP SAP (electrophysiology), Heart Failure SAP (heart failure) and ACHD SAP (adult congenital heart disease). Developing this comprehensive collection of enhanced SAPs that covers all cardiovascular topics with ABIM board certification exams supports the tacit position that the College is the professional home of all cardiovascular specialists.
Dr. Patrick O’Gara has accepted the invitation to serve as the Self-Assessment Program Editor-in-Chief for the SAP Collection. Dr. Joe Marine and Dr. Ken Ellenbogen have accepted the invitation to serve as Co-Editors of EP SAP and Dr. Edward Gerstenfeld as your Topic Editor. On behalf of Drs. O’Gara, Marine, Ellenbogen, Gerstenfeld and the ACC, we are pleased to extend an invitation to be an author on the topic of Pathophysiology in the chapter entitled Clinical Arrhythmias: Atrial and sub-topic Atrial Fibrillation in ACC’s newest offering in line with the EP SAP product. Please review the attached letter and position description. We look forward to your response by Monday, March 26, 2018.
Regards,
Liara
Liara Fredericks-Brown Digital Content Specialist American College of Cardiology
This is not about “quality” health care. This is not for “patient safety.” This is about one simple thing: the money.
It is also about manipulating their colleagues with rent-seeking for their own political avarice and greed.
-Wes
Share this Post