What's Up, Doc? How to Know If Your Physician Is Up to Date on Their Specialty

Toledo Blade (04/16/23) Howard, Sheila

Brian Kaminski, vice president of quality and patient safety at ProMedica, says patients can evaluate the current status of their doctors' medical skills by looking into their medical education. All U.S. states and medical boards require physicians to obtain continuing medical education (CME) in order to retain their licenses. Kaminski said Ohio, for example, requires all physicians to complete 50 hours of category one American Medical Association-approved CME every two years. He added that CME classes come in multiple formats, including seminars, workshops, and conferences. Although board certification is not obligatory for doctors, some health plans recognize and reward physicians who participate in maintenance of certification activities, while some health systems only provide hospital privileges to those with certification. Ad-on training is also required for physicians at most hospitals. The credentialing process also applies to doctors in private practice, while those who only work in hospitals must be affiliated with a hospital entity to meet medical malpractice mandates and thus go through credentialing. Doctors must also track their own CME; however, online trackers that monitor credits and help physicians report to medical boards are available from many organizations.

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