Maintenance of Certification — FAQ

Since I passed the board examinations prior to 2002 and have a Lifetime Certificate, must I participate in the MOC process?
No. Your Lifetime Certificate remains valid. However, you are strongly encouraged to participate in the MOC process to demonstrate your recognition of the importance of changes in the practice of medicine and the need for lifelong learning. In addition, your state or healthcare organization may require recertification within the last 10 years (i.e. the 10-year rule).

I obtained my subspecialty certificate (formerly called certificate of added qualification) prior to 2002. Is that a lifetime certificate?
No. All subspecialty certificates are 10-year time limited and participation in the MOC process is required to maintain that certification.

Is the American Board of Radiology the only board with an MOC process?
No. All 24 member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) now issue time limited certificates (6 to 10 year cycles) and require participation in a MOC process to maintain those certificates.

How were the six competencies chosen?
A task force of the ABMS and ACGME developed competencies generic to all medical specialties. All 24 ABMS member boards have accepted and endorsed this model. The ABR will develop specialty specific (Diagnostic Radiology, Radiation Oncology, and Radiologic Physics) definitions relative to the competencies.

How do I participate in the MOC program?
First, you must enroll in the MOC program with the American Board of Radiology. Then you must satisfy each of the four components and competencies over a 10-year cycle of the MOC.

What are the four components?

1. Professional Standing. This part requires a valid, unrestricted license to practice medicine in all states in which you hold an active license.
2. Lifelong learning and self assessment. A minimum of 500 Accreditation Council for Medical Education (ACGME) approved CME credits are required over the 10-year cycle, with 250 of those 500 hours in Category I and the remaining in Categories I or II. A minimum of 70% of the 500 hours must be in specialty – specific or related areas, with the remaining 30% in either clinically-related general care or relevant topics such as risk assessment, ethics, statistics, the processes of continuous quality improvement, methodologies of outcomes measurement, etc. or specialty specific areas. Self assessment will be done through a series of 20 self assessment modules (SAMs) over the 10-year cycle. SAMs that are approved for Category I credit contribute to both the lifelong learning credit hours and the self assessment requirement. To count toward MOC, the SAM must be approved by the ABR. Four must be classified as general content required of all diplomates and 16 clinical content related to the diplomates specific clinical practice.
   
3. Cognitive Expertise. This will be a proctored, secure, computer-based examination. The examination for the primary certificate in diagnostic radiology will be available in 2009 and consist of general and clinical content related to the self assessment modules. The general content will be part of each diplomate’s cognitive examination. The clinical content will be from one or any combination of the following topics: musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, neuroradiology, vascular interventional, ultrasound, pediatrics, nuclear radiology, breast radiology, patient safety, and socioeconomic concepts.
   
4. Practice Performance. Practice performance will be based on evidence-based guidelines, expert consensus, or normative peer comparison and focus on practice improvement. Specific guidelines are in development and will be announced in the coming months after details are approved by the ABMS in 2005/2006.