.10 Continuing Medical Education.

A. Definitions.

(1) In this regulation, the following terms have the meanings indicated.

(2) Terms Defined.

(a) “2-year period” means:

(i) For license renewal, the 2 years preceding the expiration of the physician license; or

(ii) For license reinstatement, the 2 years preceding the date of the submission of the application for reinstatement of the physician license.

(b) “Applicant” means:

(i) A licensed physician applying for renewal of the physician license; or

(ii) A physician applying for reinstatement of the physician license.

B. The Board recognizes and accepts CME activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession, and are within the basic medical sciences, the disciplines of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public.

C. Requirements.

(1) In accordance with the requirements specified in §C(2) of this regulation, an applicant shall earn at least 50 credit hours of Category I CME during a 2-year period.

(2) The Board shall recognize for Category I CME credit those activities which meet at least one of the following additional requirements for the activity:

(a) Be accredited as Category I by the ACCME;

(b) Be sponsored by an international, national, or state medical society, and meet the standards adopted by the ACCME;

(c) Be an accredited training program and have been attended by the applicant within a 2-year period, on the basis of either of the following:

(i) 1 year of full-time service earns 50 CME credit hours; and

(ii) Full-time service for a portion of a year earns 1 credit hour per week;

(d) Is a program of self-instruction to prepare for an approved specialty board certification or recertification examination under the ABMS which occurs solely within a 2-year period, on the basis of 5 hours of study equals 1 hour of CME Category I credit up to a maximum of 10 credit hours;

(e) Is a service performed under the auspices of a peer review, focused professional education, or physician rehabilitation committee of the Faculty or a Faculty-approved committee of one of its component societies or a specialty society and involves evaluation of medical care or fitness to provide medical care, and the service is performed without compensation and is credited up to a maximum of 10 credit hours for a 2-year period as follows:

(i) 5 hours of service is equal to 1 hour of CME Category I credit up to a maximum of 10 credit hours for a 2-year period;

(ii) If the service consists of reviewing medical records, the applicant shall be credited with 1 hour per patient record reviewed;

(iii) If the service consists of service as chair of a peer review, focused professional education, or physician rehabilitation committee and the service lasted the entire length of a 2-year period, the applicant shall be credited with 10 hours of CME Category I credit, but if the service did not cover the entire length of a 2-year period, the applicant shall be credited with CME Category I credit proportionately; and

(iv) If the service consists of service as an intervenor or assessor or as a monitor of ongoing treatment of a physician participant under the auspices of a physician rehabilitation committee, or as a preceptor under the auspices of a focused professional education committee of the Faculty, and the service lasted the entire length of a 2-year period, the applicant shall be credited with 10 hours of CME Category I credit, but if the service did not cover the entire length of a 2-year period, the applicant shall be credited with CME Category I credit proportionately;

(f) Is a service performed as a preceptor to medical students in LCME-accredited medical schools and to postgraduate trainees in accredited training programs and involves case presentations and regular and ongoing evaluations, and the service is performed without compensation and is credited with CME Category I credit for 5 preceptor hours, up to a maximum of 10 credit hours for a 2-year period;

(g) Is a service performed by a Board designee and involves medical record review for the Board and the service is performed without compensation, and is credited up to a maximum of 10 credit hours for a 2-year period; or

(h) Is a service performed voluntarily and without compensation and is credited up to a maximum of 5 CME credits in a 2-year period as follows:

(i) The applicant shall provide the voluntary, uncompensated services in the practice of medicine; and

(ii) The applicant shall demonstrate, by submitting documentation consistent with §E of this regulation, the total number of voluntary, uncompensated hours provided, and the dates, times, and locations of the medical services provided.

(3) Nothing in §C(2)(e) or (f) of this regulation shall limit or impair the ability of a licensee to earn CME Category I credits for participation in any other approved program.

(4) For the purposes of §C(2)(g) and (h) of this regulation, 5 hours of voluntary, uncompensated services are equal to 1 hour of CME Category 1 credit.

D. On the application form for renewal or reinstatement, the applicant shall attest to the fact that the applicant has completed the CME requirement.

E. Documentation of CME Credits.

(1) The applicant has the affirmative obligation to obtain the requisite documentation of CME attendance and retain this documentation for the succeeding 6 years for possible inspection by the Board.

(2) The required documentation of attendance at a CME program as described in §C(2)(a) and (b) of this regulation shall be a certificate or other documentation of attendance which shall:

(a) Contain at a minimum the:

(i) Program title;

(ii) Sponsor's name;

(iii) Physician's name;

(iv) Inclusive date or dates and location of the CME event;

(v) CME category designation and the number of designated or prescribed CME credit hours; and

(vi) Documented verification of successful completion by stamp, signature, hospital printout, or other official proof; and

(b) Demonstrate that the CME activity fell within a 2-year period.

(3) The required documentation of attendance at an accredited residency or fellowship as described in §C(2)(c) of this regulation shall be a certificate or other form of documentation which shall contain at the minimum the:

(a) Program title;

(b) ACGME accredited sponsor's name and location;

(c) Physician's name;

(d) Inclusive dates of the residency or fellowship;

(e) Specialty area of residency or fellowship; and

(f) Documented verification of completion by the sponsor.

(4) The required documentation for completion of a program of self-instruction as described in §C(2)(d) of this regulation shall be a specialty certificate issued by an ABMS-approved specialty board within a 2-year period.

(5) The required documentation for service as a preceptor is one of the following:

(a) Documentation from the respective course masters for medical students; or

(b) Documentation from the training director for postgraduate trainees.

(6) The required documentation of service as described in §C(2)(g) of this regulation shall be a certificate or other form of documentation acknowledging the applicant as a specialist reviewer on a medical record review, and stating the number of hours the applicant expended on the completion of the review.

E. The Board shall apply the CME requirement to all renewal and reinstatement applications after the first renewal, or, in the case of an applicant who has never renewed, after initial licensure.