Recently I was asked about the intersection of the CMS PQRS program and the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) maintenance of certification (MOC) program. The board certification process is not a topic that creates warm and fuzzy feelings, but it is considered one of those necessary evils nephrologists typically face once a decade. If you are years away from re-certifying (or perhaps your first dip into this pool), I’d suggest you come back to the blog next week.
The road to certification
Board certification comes in a variety of flavors. Most practicing nephrologists are either board certified or board eligible in nephrology. Prior to attaining the privilege to become certified in nephrology, nephrologists are typically certified in internal medicine. Excluding for the moment those physicians old enough to be grandfathered in, the certification process may involve two separate certifications (internal medicine and nephrology). If that were not enough, we all know colleagues who are “triple boarded”, adding perhaps critical care or pediatrics to the mix.
In the early years, certification involved a day-long knowledge based test, which included intriguing questions about the sodium transport characteristics of toad bladders. Preparation involved substantial study and parting with a certification fee. More recently this process has expanded and now includes practice improvement modules and “patient experience of care” surveys in addition to the medical-knowledge module. Along the way, the term “recertifying” was dropped in favor of the more palatable phrase, maintenance of certification. A recent addition to the mix has been our old friend PQRS. Certifying bodies like ABIM may self-nominate to participate in this program. ABIM and several other organizations are listed on the CMS website as qualified MOC program incentive entities for 2012. This has given birth to a new acronym MOC:PQRS.
An incentive for participating
Why is this important for nephrologists? If you find yourself gearing up for this once-in-a-decade certification experience, you should know that concurrent participation in the CMS PQRS program will bring an added reward. As you may recall successful participation in the PQRS program this year will result in an incentive payment equal to 0.5% of your entire Medicare Part B allowable for 2012. If you participate in the MOC:PQRS program, you will receive an additional 0.5%.
As a MOC:PQRS participant, you will be required to provide ABIM with some additional information, but you will not be required to report additional quality data beyond what you submit this year for PQRS. Of note, those of you recertifying for more than just nephrology may only collect a single additional 0.5% incentive this year.
Remember, successful participation in PQRS and the CMS EHR incentive program during the same year will result in receiving incentives from both programs. Although the PQRS incentive has declined to 0.5% this year, if you are in the midst of MOC, it is worth taking a closer look at PQRS in 2012.
RG says
Great post Terry. I don’t know where you find these things. I started with the link to the ABIM, and have ordered my surveys. Although initially this may seam not too productive, I have found these things useful when the data comes in. We are going to participate, and I will let you know how it goes. The ABIM has a very nice online orientation and set up process. It is not very time consuming, and well written. PQRS buffs, rejoice! Get started now!
RG says
I completed the module “update in nephrology, 2012.” There are only 30 questions, and it was educational. We have handed out my surveys, and the writing is on the wall. The hardest part of this project is going to get patients to return surveys. I used the handy dandy Acumen report generator to get a list of patients that meet the required criteria for the survey. One doctor in our group has to do the Practice improvement module anyway. Overall, for the PQRS buff, I think this is achievable with a mild amount of work. Terry, is your wife going to participate in the PQRS-MOC program? In short, one needs 35 surveys, a completion of 30 open book test questions, then an action plan, then 35 more surveys to see if the action plan worked. Then, you do the PQRS and attest.