When it comes to maintaining board certification, doctors have a new path.
Founded in 2015 to provide physicians with an alternative to traditional recertification efforts, the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS) recently announced that the Joint Commission has recognized the organization as a certification body. NBPAS is considered a “Designated Equivalent Source Agency” by the National Accreditation Body and can now be used by hospitals and health systems for the qualification of physicians and the granting of privileges.
Karen Schatten, associate director at NBPAS, said: Medscape Medical News that the announcement is of interest to all board-certified physicians nationwide, “because NBPAS provides a choice of recertification that is evidence-based, clinically relevant, nationally recognized, and less burdensome.”
NBPAS was established as an alternative to groups including the American Board of Internal Medicine and other boards through the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), which some physicians find expensive and time-consuming to maintain specialty certification. In recent years, the ABMS has responded to these criticisms by modifying some of its testing requirements.
An online survey of physicians conducted in 2019 for the American Board of Medical Specialties found that only 12% found value in maintaining certification (MOC). Forty-one percent of respondents did not find MOC valuable, while 46% had “mixed feelings” about it.
“Doctors are drowning in a sea of administrative tasks that prevents them from doing what we need from them: providing excellent patient care,” Schatten added. “NBPAS is proud to support physicians and reduce the burden through its accredited and physician-led recertification process.”
Administrative burdens hurting patients and doctors
Administrative burdens hurt patients by posing a risk to patient safety, Schatten said. One impact on physicians: 25 percent plan to retire earlier than planned, according to the 2020 COVID-19 Experience Report from Medscape US and International Physicians: Risk, Burnout, Loneliness.
The Association of American Medical Colleges expects a shortage of between 37,800 and 124,000 physicians by 2034. Burdens such as re-registration could make the expected shortage of doctors even more acute, according to Schatten.
Schatten highlighted two take-aways for doctors about this news. One is that NBPAS offers a nationally recognized pathway for board recertification. “[W]e are here to help inform [physicians’] hospitals or employers, as needed,” she said. Second, NBPAS recertification is on average 72% cheaper than other recertification pathways, which support physician recruitment and retention, she noted.
Paul Teirstein, MD, who founded and chairs NBPAS, called the joint committee’s decision “another important milestone” for the group. “Hospitals and health systems view the Joint Commission’s standards as important benchmarks for accreditation,” said Teirstein, who also serves as chief of cardiology at Scripps Health in San Diego.
An El Cajon, California-based nonprofit NBPAS is recertifying nearly 10,000 board-certified physicians, according to the organization. The recertification is accepted by more than 157 entities, such as hospitals, health systems and telemedicine companies.
Aine Cryts is an accomplished health IT and healthcare writer.
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