Interventional cardiologists call out ABIM for ‘unfair and unjustified’ certification policies

ABIM shares its own perspective on SCAI’s statement

When Cardiovascular Business reached out to ABIM for comment, the organization—a nonprofit group that oversees certifications in 20 different healthcare specialties—said its MOC policies have remained unchanged for the last 10 years. ABIM also pushed back on SCAI’s concerns about interventional cardiologists unfairly losing their privileges.

“No physician loses certification without being notified several times about what requirements they need to fulfill in order to remain certified,” an ABIM spokesperson said. “Physicians who have MOC points due by the end of the year receive several reminder emails, and this information is also available on the dashboard of their physician portal.”

The group also clarified that it reports on every physician’s certification status and MOC participation separately, noting that “there are circumstances in which a diplomate can be simultaneously reported as ‘certified’ and ‘not participating in MOC.’”

On the topic of costs, ABIM told Cardiovascular Business that interventional cardiologists pay an annual fee for each certificate they maintain and then pay additional fees if they choose to take an assessment in a test center.

“The annual MOC fee for the first certificate maintained is $220,” the ABIM spokesperson said. “Any additional certificate being maintained has a fee of $120 per year. Access to the Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment is included at no additional cost for each certificate being maintained.”

More information on ABIM certification for interventional cardiologists

Additional information from ABIM on certification for interventional cardiologists is available here and here. Details about the Collaborative Maintenance Pathway for cardiovascular disease, a collaboration between ABIM and the American College of Cardiology, can be found here.