The Importance of Maintaining Current Status in Physician Board Certification
The staff members at the American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS) understand that the time constraints that confront most physicians in this day and age can be overwhelming. In many ways, time is a physician’s greatest adversary, especially in today’s environment. They are torn in many directions by patients who need them, digital paperwork that won’t wait, and the demands placed upon them by employers if they work within a healthcare group or at a hospital. It is understandable, then, that the annual responsibilities related to physician board certification within their chosen specialties might lose out on the list of priorities. Yet, it is well worth dedicating the relatively brief amount of time required to make sure that a certification status remains current and updated.
Online Verification of Certification Can Impact a Physician’s Career
The ease of online verification of a physician’s board certification status with the ABPS and other certifying bodies is one reason it is more important than ever for a physician to remain current each year. This applies to recertification every few years, certainly, but it also is important for a physician to meet annual responsibilities as well. Why? Because there are a number of entities that regularly attempt to confirm a physician’s status for a variety of reasons, and what used to take weeks or months now can be accomplished in minutes online.
Who might check verification? The list is relatively short, but substantial, and could very well impact a physician’s ability to get hired or to retain a position. Verification might be sought by:
- Hospital recruiters
- Hospital CEOs and other administrators
- Patients
- A current employer
- Regulatory agencies
- Licensing agencies
- Verification organizations that maintain records for insurance companies
Recertification Enhances a Physician’s Professional Standing
By recertifying, physicians demonstrate their dedication to both career growth and the advancement of their medical field. This is also a significant benefit to medical organizations, as patients often consider the qualifications of a physician when deciding which facility to visit. Recertification can therefore serve as an assurance of quality for prospective patients.
To earn board recertification through the ABPS, physicians must participate in a regular schedule of maintenance and enhancement of competency in their specialty. They must also:
- Complete a non-remedial medical ethics course
- Complete specialty-specific CME during the preceding eight years
- Certify annually that their medical licenses are full and unrestricted in every state in which they practice
- Pass a 100-question, securely administered written exam in the final year of the eight-year certification cycle
Current Diplomates of ABMS and AOA member boards are eligible to recertify with ABPS, and we encourage them to consider the ABPS as an option.
To learn more about the importance of maintaining a current status with board certification, contact the ABPS today. The ABPS is the official multi-specialty board certification body of the Amehttp://abpsus.org/contact-usrican Association of Physician Specialists, Inc.
