ACC Response to ABIM Report on Vision for Certification and MOC Programs in 2020

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) released a report on September 16th entitled "A Vision for Certification in Internal Medicine in 2020," that was drafted to inform the reshaping of ABIM's Certification and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) programs. The report, developed by the Assessment 2020 Task Force which assembled in 2013, aims to "develop a vision for the future of assessment in internal medicine and associated subspecialties" and to "stimulate discussion" around the future of certification.

According to Task Force Chair Harlan Krumholz, MD, SM, FACC, "the group sought to envision what the future could be and considered that what is possible tomorrow may be very different from what can be done today." With that in mind, the report includes three key recommendations that are similar to those being proposed by the ACC on behalf of its members, as well as the rest of the internal medicine community. Specifically, the report proposes to: 1) replace the 10-year MOC exam with more frequent, less burdensome assessments; 2) focus assessments on cognitive and technical skills; and 3) recognize specialization. Read the full report here

The Assessment 2020 Task Force should be commended for its work over the last two years to gather input from stakeholders and develop this report that will no doubt further discussions around the future of MOC. To read the full ACC message, please go here.