Welcome to the August edition of AOE’s Monthly Newsletter! This edition of AOE Compliance Connection includes details on ACCME’s PARS improvements, the fifth installment of our series about Initial Accreditation, and the kickoff to a new series on How to Overcome the Top 3 Obstacles to Accredited CME Program Success from AOE President, Stephen Lewis. In addition to our monthly newsletter, we share weekly compliance tips for actionable advice your team can use for compliance success—check them out here.
ACCME: Accreditation Update
Of our July cohort clients that applied for Accreditation with Commendation, we are pleased to announce that every single provider successfully achieved Commendation status. Congratulations to you all and thank you for including us in your pursuit of CME/CE excellence.
ACCME: New improvements to PARS
The ACCME is improving its Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) to “make the reporting process easier, more accurate, and better aligned with your workflows.” Sign us up!
Specifically, the organization is focusing its efforts on improving the process to report individual learner credits. To achieve that goal, they’ve enlisted the help of four Learning Management System (LMS) companies to hone the technology and ensure seamless integration between LMS vendors and PARS. On the user front, they’ve partnered with 32 accredited providers nationwide to implement and engage with the system.
You can view the full list of Premier Technology Partners here and provider Innovation Partners here.
We look forward to more news and hands-on experience with the system updates in the coming weeks.
Initial Accreditation Series, Part 5: Performance-in-Practice
Interested in applying for Initial Accreditation with the ACCME? Last month, we walked you through the “storytelling” component of the Initial Accreditation application, the Self-Study Report (or SSR).
This month, we focus on Performance-in-Practice. In basic terms, the Performance-in-Practice step prompts you to show evidence that your activities are compliant with ACCME’s accreditation requirements. Here’s what you’ll do:
Choose at least two activities for Performance-in-Practice review. These activities must have launched within the past 24 months, so make sure your selections fall within that window. As a new applicant, you can either 1) select activities that you’ve produced in partnership with an accredited provider (referred to as joint providership), or 2) select activities you’ve produced that weren’t offered for CME credit.
Visit ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and enter all required data for the activities. This data will include basic logistic details like activity start and end date, title, format, and so forth, and act as a reference catalog for the ACCME. PARS is utilized for all providers seeking accreditation at all levels; it’s an important database that must be carefully maintained, and you’ll continue to use it throughout your accreditation journey. If your team is interested in assistance or management on this front, reach out to the AOE team here to learn more about the accreditation management and coordination services we offer.
Submit Performance-in-Practice evidence for each selected activity. Using ACCME’s Performance-in-Practice structured abstract, you’ll submit short narrative responses addressing how each activity meets ACCME’s Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited CE, Core Accreditation Criteria, and policies, along with supporting document uploads (i.e. materials used during the activity that relate to those narrative responses). Make sure you follow all PARS prompts carefully and complete each field thoroughly.
Up next month? The final installment in our Initial Accreditation series—the interview.
CE/AOE Community: How to Overcome the Top 3 Obstacles to Accredited CME Program Success – Part 1
This article is the first in a three-part series from AOE President, Stephen Lewis.
Stephen Lewis, MA, CHCP
In working with dozens of accredited CME/CE programs since 2008 to address and overcome barriers to success, we recently worked with AOE clients to identify the Top 3 obstacles they struggle with. If you can identify with or add any new obstacles or solutions to this list, please reach out to us to share your experiences or let us know how we can help.
Obstacle #1 – Gatekeeper Syndrome
We get it. Your office plays the dual role of protecting the organization’s accreditation while making sure all planning materials, faculty disclosures, content, and outcomes for each activity are compliant and make everyone happy/successful in the process. It’s a tough juggling act that often leads to the following result: the accredited CME team earns a reputation for being the “compliance police” instead of “education partner” to both internal and external stakeholders.
Example: An accredited provider (AP) held a fierce debate regarding posting an exhibitor “thank-you” slide in the annual meeting session room immediately prior to and after CME presentations. The proposed “holding slides” had information on the meeting Wi-Fi password, a save-the-date for the following year’s annual meeting, and the exhibitor thank-you slide that included each exhibitor’s logo.
Unfortunately, the AP team suffered from the fact that each team member had a different interpretation or understanding of the ACCME Standards and definitions. Initially, the team couldn’t reach agreement on whether the slide in question was “educational materials that are part of the accredited education” (ACCME Standard 5.2c), “information distributed about accredited education that does not include educational content, such as schedules and logistical information” (Standard 5.2d) or “ancillary activities” in conjunction with accredited CME (Standard 5.2a).
After we dug into the details and discussed actual definitions and scenarios, reaching consensus was straightforward. The thank-you slide wasn’t “part of the accredited education” or an “ancillary activity” presented by an ineligible company. Taking a conservative approach, the AP reached the conclusion that including an exhibitor thank-you slide without logos would address compliance issues while meeting the objectives of the team.
Solution: By taking time to classify and clearly analyze the issue, accredited providers can reach a rational, well-supported decision.
Follow along next month for Obstacle #2.
Upcoming Events
- Newcomers’ Orientation to Accredited CE
August 25, 2025, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - ACCME 2025 Accreditation Workshop
August 26-27, 2025, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - 2025 Alliance Industry Summit (AIS)
September 8 – 10, 2025, Philadelphia, PA
Read More >> - AAFP Family Medicine Board Review Express® Livestream (online course)
September 10 – 13, 2025
Read More >> - ACPE CPD Accreditation Pathway Workshop & CPE Administrator Workshop
September 16 – 17, 2025, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - American Board of Medical Specialties ABMS Conference 2025
September 17 – 19, 2025, Pittsburgh, PA
Read More >> - Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ – Fall 2025 Getting Started with Joint Accreditation Virtual Workshop
September 26, 2025
Read More >> - ANCC Magnet & Pathway Conference 2025
October 8 – 10, 2025, Atlanta, GA
Read More >> - Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (MAACME) 2025 Annual Conference
November 5 – 6, 2025, Blue Bell, PA
Read More >>
