ABS to Further Simplify and Digitize CME Data Reporting
Feb. 9, 2023 | UPDATED: Feb. 15, 2023
The American Board of Surgery (ABS) is pleased to announce that, as of July 1, 2023, all CME will be automatically transferred to the ABS through the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) PARS system. This is part of our ongoing commitment to reduce the administrative burden on diplomates and enhance the value of the ABS Continuous Certification Program. As part of this improvement, the manual reporting feature (the ability to individually input CME information) in the ABS portal will no longer be necessary and will be retired on July 1, 2023.
Why is the ABS Retiring the Self-Reporting Feature?
The ABS’s collaboration with the ACCME streamlines the process for ABS diplomates to report their Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits to the ABS. CME credits earned through activities completed with accredited CME providers are automatically transferred to a diplomate’s ABS CME repository within 30 days of successful completion of the activity.
Initiated in 2021, the ABS collaboration with the ACCME has been designed to:
- simplify the reporting of CME credits directly to ABS;
- allow surgeons to spend more time on their own professional development and less time managing credits and requirements; and
- streamline the search for relevant CME activities locally and nationally.
Next Steps: As an ABS Diplomate, What Do I Need to Do?
If you don’t see a previously completed CME activity already in your ABS CME repository:
- You can manually upload those credits before July 1, 2023, OR
- Contact the CME provider and ask if they are able to send that information on your behalf to the ABS.
- As of July 1, diplomates will no longer be able to manually report that information.
Moving forward, when registering for a CME activity with an accredited CME provider, ABS diplomates can expect to provide the following information for the provider to report the CME credit:
- first name
- last name
- month and day of birth
- permission to share this information with the ACCME and the ABS
CME organizations are asked to report completed CME credits to ACCME within 30 days of successful completion of the activity.
There is nothing more that the diplomate must do. Once the data is transferred, the ABS will have a digital record of the diplomate’s participation in that activity, the number of credits earned, and what kind of credit. This information will automatically appear in the diplomate’s ABS portal.
For Diplomates Who Use ACS MyCME
Beginning in April 2023, the American College of Surgeons (ACS) will launch an updated process to transmit CME credit from ACS MyCME to the ABS (via the ACCME) to align with the process explained above. ACS members will simply log into ACS MyCME, provide their ABS ID, select the date range for CME credit earned, and grant permission for the data transfer. This is intended to be as seamless as the current process, while still offering all of the benefits associated with ACS MyCME.
Important Note: In anticipation of ACS's new process being launched in April 2023, ACS members are strongly encouraged to utilize the existing ACS MyCME platform to transmit existing CME data. Please visit the ACS MyCME platform and send your CME data now. For help with this process, please contact ACS MyCME at mycme@facs.org.
Questions?
ABS Diplomates: Please direct any questions to our Continuous Certification Exam Manager
ACS Fellows: Please contact mycme@facs.org
CME providers: Please contact Info@accme.org
