AOE Compliance Connection

Welcome to AOE’s July 2024 edition of AOE Compliance Connection, our monthly newsletter. Summer is in full swing! We hope this month brings celebration, rest, and compliance! In this month’s newsletter, we bring you upcoming updates to PARS, the ACCME website, and what to expect at next month’s Accreditation Workshop in Chicago. As a follow up to last month’s AI-focused June newsletter, we also offer a summary of a new Alliance Almanac article about ethical considerations of using AI in CME. Make sure you and your CE team are signed up for our weekly compliance tips and social media posts!

CME educators and organization representatives are making plans now to convene in Chicago next month at the ACCME 2024 Accreditation Workshop. In May, the ACCME hosted its annual meeting in Chicago, Learn to Thrive 2024. While both are valuable for educational and networking purposes, the fall workshop is designed specifically as a deep dive into ACCME accreditation requirements. CME newcomers can head up a day early and attend the pre-conference orientation on August 26. AOE will be in attendance, representing two accredited client organizations at the workshop. We hope to connect with you there!

During the two-day main event, participants will have the opportunity to explore ACCME’s requirements and expectations during each stage of the accreditation process. Any providers, whether nationally or state-accredited organizations, who are new to the world of CME/CE, or who are looking to develop better communication and networks surrounding CME/CE, or who are simply looking to expand their knowledge of the resources and tools available are all invited to participate in the workshop activities.

The one-day pre-conference session will provide a broader overview of accredited CE before the workshop itself, specifically to those who have been in the CME/CE community for less than a year. Participants can plan to explore what it means to be accredited in the ACCME system, the overarching value of accredited CE as a whole, the scope and mission of the ACCME, valuable terminology, key stakeholders, and the basic frame of the ACCME accreditation requirements.

All participants will be required to complete several courses and a pre-workshop assessment in ACCME Academy, the ACCME’s online learning platform. These activities will be available a few weeks prior to the workshop and will require about 2-3 hours to complete.

Learn more about the workshop, the newcomers’ orientation, and how to register here.

The ACCME recently announced two changes to its online presence: 1) website updates scheduled for later this summer, and 2) an extended timeline for PARS.

First, following data and feedback collection from users, the ACCME found that while 75% of visitors are highly satisfied or satisfied with the accme.org website, there is still room for growth. They will unroll website updates later this summer that will address search functionality, consolidated Standards resources, and improved accessibility.

Second, accredited providers have long been encouraged to report learner credits into PARS within 30 days of activity completion so that the learner can view their credit in their CME Passport profile and use it to meet both licensing and certification requirements. The cut-off deadline has been two years after the credit was earned (to accommodate various activity formats) but following numerous requests, the ACCME recently announced an extension to five years after the credit is earned, effective July 1, 2024.

This new extended deadline applies to all CME credit reported for licensing and also for the following boards: The American Board of Surgery, the American Board of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, and the American Board of Internal Medicine.

Recently, the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEHP) published an article in its online Almanac that addresses the ethics involved in the use of AI in CME. AI continues to be a hot topic in CME following the keynote focus at Learn to Thrive 2024 and last month’s feature article in the Alliance Almanac.

Author Milini Mingo, MPA, CHCP, in her article, “AI’s Ethical Footprint in CME”, broadly addresses how AI is not only affecting but reshaping CME by making learning more personalized, engaging, and above all, accessible, but is raising concerns surrounding accuracy and bias. She calls for more regulatory guidance at all stages of CME design, including evolving frameworks that keep pace with the AI advancements.

The primary ethical dilemmas Mingo identifies are:

• Error vs. Accuracy: The flip side of AI’s ability to process and analyze large data at a rapid speed is the weakness for errors in a field where the stakes are high.
• >Reinforcement and Confirmation of Bias: If the data being analyzed by AI contains bias, then the output will just reinforce that bias, which is especially problematic as the field of CME works intentionally towards diverse and equitable learning environments.

Mingo states that integrating AI necessitates an ethical framework that includes: Global standards and guidelines, national regulatory oversight by agencies like the FDA and HHS, and professional bodies and accreditation agencies like the AMA. Providers are invited to join the ongoing discussion in the Almanac Community here.

• ACPE Self Study Workshop
  July 29-30, Chicago, IL
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• AAMSE Annual Conference
  July 31 – August 2, 2024, Savannah, GA
  Read More >>
• ACPE Evaluator Training Workshop
  August 6-7, 2024, Chicago, IL
  Read More >>
• CACME Annual Meeting
  August 16, 2024, Denver, CO
  Read More >>
• ACCME 2024 Accreditation Workshop
  August 26-28, 2024, Chicago, IL
  Read More >>
• Learn to Thrive PLUS
  October 29, 2024, Virtual Live
  Read More >>