• Accreditation Statement
• Designation Statement
• Copyright Material Policy
• Disclosure Policy
• Needs Assessment

ACCREDITATION STATEMENTBack to Top

The American College of Rheumatology is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

DESIGNATION STATEMENTBack to Top

The American College of Rheumatology designates the below educational activities for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

All non-physician participants may claim hours to receive a Certificate of Participation for an activity designated for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

• 2013 Winter Rheumatology Symposium:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 23 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• 2013 Rheumatology Maintenance of Certification Course:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 15.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• 2013 State-of-the-Art Clinical Symposium:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 11.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• 2013 Clinical Rheumatology for Health Professionals: ABCs of X-ray Reading:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 6.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• 2013 Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Rheumatologists—Fundamentals:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 17.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.
• 2013 Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Rheumatologists with Interventional Cadaver Workshop—Intermediate:
  The ACR designates this activity for a maximum of 19 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL POLICYBack to Top

ACR/ARHP educational activities are not public events. Programs presented at each activity are for the education of attendees and purchasers of recorded presentations as authorized by the ACR. The information and materials displayed and presented during this symposium are the property of the American College of Rheumatology and the presenter and cannot be photographed, copied, photocopied, transformed to electronic format, reproduced, or distributed without written permission of the American College of Rheumatology and the presenter. Any use of the program content for commercial purposes, which includes, but is not limited to oral presentations, audiovisual materials used by speakers, and program handouts without the written consent of the ACR is prohibited. This policy applies before, during and after each activity. The ACR will enforce its intellectual property rights and penalize those who infringe upon it. The names, insignias, logos and acronyms of the ACR, the ARHP and the Foundation are proprietary marks. Use of the names in any fashion, by any entity, for any purpose, is prohibited without the express written permission of the American College of Rheumatology.

DISCLOSURE POLICYBack to Top

It is the policy of the American College of Rheumatology to ensure that CME activities are independent and free of commercial bias. To ensure content objectivity and balance, and guarantee that the content presented is in the best interest of its learners' and the public, the ACR requires that everyone in a position to control the content must disclose all relevant financial relationships with any commercial interest if they occurred within the past 12 months. If there are relationships that create a conflict of interest, these must be resolved prior to the participation of the individual in the development or presentation of CME content. Any individual who refuses to disclose relevant financial relationships will be disqualified from being involved in the development, management, presentation or evaluation of the CME activity. Disclosure information is made available to learners prior to the start of the activity.

NEEDS ASSESSMENTBack to Top

The educational needs of rheumatologists span the medical knowledge base of the specialty. For certification, and maintenance of certification purposes, the American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Board on Rheumatology has defined several broad categories with a multitude of associated sub topics in its examination blueprint1. The following are several of the categories that appear in the blueprint.

• Osteoarthritis
• Rheumatoid Arthritis
• Lupus Erythematosus
• Nonarticular and Regional Musculoskeletal Disorders
• Vasculitides
• Seronegative Spondyloarthropathies
• Crystal-induced Arthropathies
• Metabolic Bone Disease
• Other Rheumatic and Connective Tissue Diseases
• Nonrheumatic Systemic Diseases
• Infectious and Other Reactive Arthritides

Topics presented at ACR/ARHP activities are subtopics of the categories listed above and therefore are critical to the certification, ongoing competency and quality of care provided by physicians and health professionals to those with or at risk for arthritis and rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases.

ACR/ARHP education addresses a global need which is to educate trainees, physicians, health professionals and scientists on a broad spectrum of topics to prepare for the anticipated 46% increase in demand for rheumatology services2 from 2005-2025. It is expected that the number of practicing rheumatologists in the same period will only increase by 1.2 percent. This is a clear expression of the dire state of affairs regarding the rheumatology workforce and its impact on access to care.

1 American Board of Internal Medicine Rheumatology Certification and Maintenance of Certification Examination Blueprint

2 Workforce Study of Rheumatologists Final Report (The Lewin Group)