Welcome to AOE’s April 2023 edition of AOE Compliance Connection, our monthly newsletter. In this edition, we feature a “what to expect” sneak peek of the ACCME’s annual meeting in May, Learn to Thrive 2023, with a special section dedicated to the Working Groups and the changes therein. We also share information about a new checklist tool designed to help providers report learner data in PARS. If you don’t already, follow us on social media (Twitter and Facebook) for weekly compliance tips and updates. Don’t hesitate to email us at inquire@aoeconsulting.com with any questions and inquiries of all types. AOE exists to support and guide you and your team into compliance success!
ACCME Annual Meeting: Learn to Thrive 2023
The ACCME is gearing up for its annual meeting: Learn to Thrive 2023! Accredited CE providers and stakeholders will gather in Chicago from May 16-18 (and some for pre-conference gatherings on May 15) to grow and develop as a CE community.
The theme of this year’s meeting reflects the ACCME’s desire for the CE community to do more than survive the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare. As the healthcare enterprise continues to shift, accredited CE remains the foundation for improving patient care. An investment in professional development will better position CE professionals to meet learner (and ultimately) patient needs. The ACCME invites all CE professionals to attend the conference, stating that “Learn to Thrive 2023 is an essential professional development opportunity to help you discover actionable strategies that will optimize your role in helping clinicians deliver quality patient care. Throughout this three-day meeting, you’ll join stakeholders from across the healthcare education continuum to learn from the rich diversity of educational and collaborative approaches that are improving healthcare each day.”
The conference will feature multiple approaches and forums, including:
- Keynote presentations and discussions with ACCME President and CEO, Graham McMahon, MD MMSc
- Mini-Plenary sessions focused on strategy-building around the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, PARS, Accreditation with Commendation, and the ACCME’s many collaborations
- Inspire & Teach! Sessions, back by popular demand from last year’s conference
- Research Exchange through poster presentations and displays
- Working Groups with updates (outlined later in this newsletter)
- Homeroom Sessions that provide connection and debrief time among colleagues
- New features this year, including an Exhibit Hall, Intensive Sessions, Learning Pathways, and Experience Level Guides.
More information can be found here, and remember – your registration deadline is quickly approaching: Friday, April 21, 2023, by 5pm CT. Register for Learn to Thrive 2023 here, or for the pre-conference sessions on May 15 here.
CE Compliance Help: New Checklist Resource
The latest ACCME tool to be debuted is a checklist to help providers begin to report CE credit for their physician learners. For those just stepping into the sometimes-confusing waters of CE credit reporting, this step-by-step guide will help!
The CME Credit Reporting Checklist isn’t an official form, but instead a tool to use in your own preparation and planning.
Here is an abbreviated version of the steps (the full list can be found here):
- Determine what new learner data needs to be collected from learners (name, birthday, etc.).
- Determine your method of collecting missing data and permission to report.
- Enter your activities in PARS/JA-PARS.
- Decide which credit entry method will work best for your organization.
- Report the credit in PARS/JA-PARS within 30 days of learner completion.
CE Community: Working Groups Changes
The ACCME has made some changes to Working Groups for Learn to Thrive 2023. The underlying change is that they will begin at the conference, instead of culminating there, as they did last year. This change will allow for more interaction among group participants and a longer timeline to achieve group goals.
The milestones include focused group sessions during the conference itself, a June kick-off webinar, virtual collaboration meetings from July-September, project production and dissemination from September through May 2024, and an opportunity to share about their project outcomes at Learn to Thrive 2024.
Those attending Learn to Thrive 2023 will be able to connect with Working Group leaders to both learn more and provide feedback. The ACCME is encouraging attendees who find a project they find interesting to sign up and join the group and participate in the virtual meetings after the conference, beginning in June.
They have released a sneak peek of four working groups about to launch:
- Using Innovation and Creativity to Fund Your CME/CPD Activities. The key issue to be addressed: The post-pandemic struggle to find funding for virtual and hybrid initiatives.
- Sparking Innovation through Continuing Education. The key issue to be addressed: Rapidly evolving healthcare landscape needs innovative thinking.
- Meaningful Engagement of Patient Partners in CE. The key issue to be addressed is the need to expand engagement with those individuals who have more lived experience in the CE realm (patients, families, etc.).
- Advancing CE to Address the Substance Use Crisis. The key issue to be addressed is the need for educational support following the passing of the MATE Act of 2021.
More information about the ACCME Working Groups will be available soon here.
Upcoming Events
- Alliance Industry Summit 2023
May 1-3, 2023, Philadelphia, PA
Read More >> - ACCME 2023 Meeting
May 16-18, 2023, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - 2023 Joint Accreditation Leadership Summit
May 15-16, 2023, Chicago, IL
Read More >> - ACPE CPE Administrator Workshop
Jun 27-28, 2023, Chicago, IL
Registration information coming soon!
