Massachusetts to Require CME Credit on Implicit Bias in Healthcare

Starting in June, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine (BORIM) will mandate that applicants for initial physician licensure and licensees renewing physician licensure obtain 2.00 continuing medical education credits on implicit bias in healthcare. The credits count toward a physician's biennial requirement of 10 hours of risk management credits, without increasing the total number of required credits. BORIM notes that physicians can "self-select educational activities that align with" particular learning goals, and they do not need to seek preapproval of any course they consider adherent to policy and learning objectives. Select goals include greater self-awareness of personal biases to cultivate more just, informed decisions; recognition of implicit bias' impact on patients and their healthcare; and mitigation of implicit bias. Courses should also illustrate conscious mitigation approaches, and training on implicit bias in healthcare must be specifically directed at physicians.

Read More