Update From the Board
The ACR Board of Directors met February 9-11, 2006, and listened to reports on the many new projects and activities that various ACR committees will
undertake in 2006.
Significant items discussed include new educational products set to launch in 2006; approval of the revised ACR Fellowship Core Curriculum Outline, and ACR and REF advocacy and fundraising endeavors. Throughout the meeting, particular emphasis was placed on the quality movement and several quality-related projects; the Board approved efforts from a number of committees
aiming to prepare members as the quality movement continues to grow and
will soon affect rheumatologists.
- Larry Anderson, MD, reported to the board that organizations like CMS, along with many employers, increasingly feel there is a gap between the quality of care that is possible and the quality of care actually provided. There is a general consensus that this is not an issue of inadequate physicians, but of an inadequate healthcare system. The quality movement will attempt to improve the healthcare system to reduce errors that cause additional cost and suffering to the patient. The ACR’s main objective is to ensure that the voice of rheumatology is heard as these changes evolve and that its members have all the tools and resources necessary to navigate the new system.
- The ACR is collaborating with leading organizations involved in the quality movement so that the measures adopted to indicate quality of care are developed and approved by the ACR. To that end, the board approved a starter set of 16 quality indicators on rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, gout, and drug safety that were drafted by the Quality Measures Committee in collaboration with ACR members representing diverse models of rheumatology practice and reviewed by several national quality organizations.
- The Continuous Professional Development Subcommittee reported on its work to implement the ACR disease classification criteria, practice guidelines and quality indicators in a functional way to ensure that rheumatologists will be able to manage the changing ABIM maintenance of certification program. ACR members will be required to complete this recertification program in greater numbers in the future; the majority will have time-limited certificates within ten years. Within five years, 47% will be required to recertify.
- The Continuing Assessment, Review, and Evaluation program, which will be available in April 2006, is a Web-based educational tool with case-based questions that will provide CME credit and ABIM recertification points. An update on the PIM, another Web-based educational tool that will guide physicians through a medical chart review, was also given. Questions will be developed using a combination
of evidence-based standards and consensus-derived indicators of quality. After completing the PIM, rheumatologists will have the
opportunity to view results and decide on areas of improvement and will complete the PIM a
second time six months later.
ABIM credit for recertification is offered when you complete the
PIM and is not based on any actual measure of improvement.
- The recently established ACR Quality Leadership Council had its initial meeting on February 11, 2006. The purpose of the Council is to define the overall strategy of ACR’s quality initiatives and to
connect the quality-related work of ACR Committees on Quality Measures, Rheumatologic Care, Education, Training and Workforce, and Government Affairs. It will also monitor the external environment of the quality movement and be prepared to coordinate an ACR response to quality-related issues. Some of the QLC’s first steps will be to develop strategies to effectively advocate for rheumatologists in government and draft a strategic plan for ACR’s quality-related efforts.
- The Committee on Training and Workforce Issues presented the revised ACR Fellowship Core Curriculum Outline that was developed in conjunction with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), which the board approved. The revised curriculum will be a guide for program directors as they create their curricula, and it is another component of the ACR’s plan to be proactive in the quality movement and put the framework in place to help members deal with quality-related issues. This is considered a ground-breaking document by the ACGME, and it is likely that it will be used by other subspecialties as they develop their own curriculum outlines.
Sincerely,
Mary K. Crow, MD
President, American College of Rheumatology
|
