July 7, 2016
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) jointly announce that board-certified physicians who earn NCQA Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) or Patient-Centered Specialty Practice (PCSP) Recognition can now earn Practice Assessment Maintenance of Certification (MOC) points and Patient Safety MOC credit from ABIM.
“We’re pleased to have achieved this important strategic alignment around MOC with the ABIM,” says NCQA President, Margaret E. O’Kane. “In this time of increasing demand on physicians to implement better management systems and report on their performance, this kind of alignment is a win-win-win for the ABIM, the NCQA and most importantly for the physicians.”
“We are happy to be able to provide MOC credit to physicians who are coordinating care to improve patient experiences and reduce waste through the NCQA PCMH and PCSP recognition program,” said Richard J. Baron, MD, President and CEO of ABIM. “This key partnership will expand the quality improvement activities available for ABIM MOC credit, and we continue to encourage physicians to engage in this clinically relevant work to better serve their patients.”
Recognition of these programs through ABIM’s Approved Quality Improvement (AQI) program allows physicians to seamlessly earn MOC credit for quality improvement activities they are already engaged in through daily practice. Notification of participant completion is sent directly from NCQA to the ABIM, eliminating the need for physicians to submit any further information directly to ABIM.
Medical homes and specialty practices are the foundation of the patient-centered “medical neighborhood”—where patients receive coordinated care both from primary care providers and specialists—as well as of many other sites, including retail clinics and urgent care centers. PCMHs and PCSPs in the medical neighborhood reduce fragmented care by establishing agreements and focusing on communication between primary care physicians and specialists, as well as on best practices for co-management of patients. Practices evaluate their capabilities and identify gaps in performance against system standards.
NCQA PCMH Recognition programs helps practices create an infrastructure for continuous quality improvement.
How to earn credit:
- ABIM Board Certified physicians who successfully complete PCMH or PCSP Recognition will earn 20 Practice Assessment MOC points and Patient Safety MOC credit. The credit applies to both initial and renewal recognition. NCQA will submit participant completion information to ABIM for the purpose of granting MOC credit.
- ABIM has extended the decision to not require Practice Assessment, Patient Voice and Patient Safety in its MOC program through December 31, 2018. Physicians can still earn MOC points for completing approved Practice Assessment activities.
- NCQA’s program standards require practices to monitor multiple indicators of quality, utilization and patient experience. As such, public and private payers continue to use NCQA PCMH and PCSP Recognition as benchmarks and criteria for entry into high-performing provider networks and/or pay-for-performance incentive programs.