ABMS Boards making changes to MOC

High-stakes testing

Longitudinal assessment may be the way to address the other component of Maintenance of Certification (MOC), that has perhaps caused the most uproar from physicians, is the high-stakes exam, which diplomates take every 10 years. Many physicians argue that MOC does not test them on what they actually practice, but rather on some theoretical scope of practice in their specialty. For example, if a physician is certified in internal medicine, it is unlikely that he or she is practicing in all areas housed under internal medicine. Yet the physician might be tested on an area he or she doesn't practice.

“I am a family physician and I haven't done obstetrics in 20 years,” says Todd Sagin, MD, JD, president and national medical director of Sagin Healthcare Consulting and CRC board member. “Why, when I take my exam, do I have to be knowledgeable in obstetrics? Many doctors complain that MOC examinations do not take into consideration the actual focus and clinical content of their practice.”

He says this is an area that needs to be addressed by certifying Boards, especially the specialties with a larger scope of practice.

Irons says that this issue is currently being addressed by many of American Board of Medical Specialties' (ABMS) Boards. They have introduced modular formats so that the secure exam can not only assess the core of the specialty that each physician who remains certified in the specialty needs to know and be current in, but also can target their exam to the areas in which they are currently practicing.

Source: News and Analysis