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ABPS Announces Formation of American Board of Hospital Medicine

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, January 13, 2009

For Further Information Contact: William J. Carbone Chief Executive Officer (813) 433-2277, Ext. 20

AMERICAN BOARD OF PHYSICIAN SPECIALTIES ANNOUNCES FORMATION OF AMERICAN BOARD OF HOSPITAL MEDICINE

Hospital Medicine Recognized as a Growing Medical Specialty Tampa, FL ---- The American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS), the nation’s third largest physician multispecialty certifying organization, announced today the formation of the American Board of Hospital Medicine (ABHM). The ABHM is North America’s first and only board of certification devoted exclusively to hospital medicine --- founded by hospitalists and governed by hospitalists.

The term “hospitalist” refers to physicians whose practice emphasizes providing care for hospitalized patients. The term was coined by Drs. Robert Wachter and Lee Goldman in a New England Journal of Medicine article in August of 1996.

According to ABHM Chair, Dr. Thomas G. Pelz, a hospital based physician at Boscobel (Wisconsin) Area Health Care, “The American Board of Physician Specialties recognizes the vital role that hospitalists play in the delivery of health care in the United States and Canada. Hospital medicine is one of the fastest growing and most dynamic medical specialties in North America and the ABPS is excited about taking the lead in the formation of the American Board of Hospital Medicine.”

Canadian ABHM board member, Dr. Luay Dindo of Surrey, British Columbia, said, “The ABHM is not a subspecialty of another board of certification but a fully fledged, comprehensive board in hospital medicine. I believe that hospital medicine is its own specialty and necessitates a board of certification reflecting that fact.”

The ABHM has been in development for the last three years under the direction of dedicate hospitalists from the Unites States and Canada. It is important to note, that some of the board members of the American Board of Hospital Medicine are dual-board physicians - - boarded by the ABPS and also boarded by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), American Board of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ABOFP) and American Board of Osteopathic Emergency Medicine (ABOEM).

In its 58th year, the American Association of Physician Specialists, Inc. (AAPS), and its official certifying body, the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS), is one of three nationally recognized multi-specialty medical organizations overseeing physician certification. It assists its 15 Member Boards in their efforts to develop and implement educational and professional standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists.

The AAPS is a not-for-profit organization with headquarters located in Tampa, Florida.

For more information, please visit www.abhmus.org.