Verifying Physician Certification

In February 2015, ABIM introduced changes to its Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program and its certification status reporting processes which could affect your credentialing procedures. These changes are an extension of ABIM’s Board of Directors’ decision in January 2014, to no longer issue certificates with end dates because of the continuous activities it now requires for physicians to maintain their certification.

Recognizing that some entities may still require current certification status to complete Primary Source Verification, ABIM encourages all credentialers and medical staff professionals to utilize its new annual re-verification date of April 1 to obtain the most accurate information about an ABIM diplomate’s current certification status. For those physicians certified prior to January 2014, the ABMS Certification Profile will continue to display their certification date. The profile will be updated to an MOC certificate when the physician’s current certificate expires.

ABIM created a Credentialer’s page on its website at abim.org/credentialers. You also may contact ABMS Solutions at (800) 733-2267 with any questions.

ABMS Solutions™ oversees the licensing of online product solutions for Primary Source Verification (PSV) of a physician’s certification. These resources allow hospitals and health systems as well as attorneys, insurance groups, and other professionals to check physicians’ records quickly, conveniently, and securely. The ABMS Solutions product offering includes annual subscription services, flexible query packages, and linkages direct to specific credentialing software platforms.

Depending on the product chosen, data can include certification effective and expiration dates, historical information of certifications, as well as meeting requirements for the ABMS Program for Maintenance of Certification (MOC).

Certification data offered by ABMS Solutions complies with all PSV requirements as set by the Joint Commission (TJC), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and the Utilization Review Accreditation Committee (URAC). ABMS Solutions meets these rigorous requirements through the secure and timely reporting of credentialing information.

ABMS Solutions™ oversees the licensing of online product solutions for Primary Source Verification (PSV) of a physician’s certification. These resources are for professional use to check physicians’ records quickly, conveniently, and securely.

Board certification data from the ABMS database, which includes dates, meet all PSV requirements as set by the Joint Commission (TJC), National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), and the Utilization Review Accreditation Committee (URAC) for the secure and timely reporting of credentialing information. This is the only online resource that is updated daily with physician certification information from the 24 ABMS certifying Member Boards.

ABMS Solutions product set includes:

• CertiFACTS^® Online is the original and most widely accepted professional online resource for checking board certification information in the ABMS database.
• ABMS Certification Profile Service^® provides as-needed access to the ABMS database with query package options that do not expire.
• ABMS Direct Connect^® Select helps credentialing professionals connect directly to the ABMS database through credentialing software platforms such as Cactus, MDStaff, CredentialSmart or Vistar.

The ABMS Board Certification Credentials Profile includes information about a physician’s board certification and continuing certification (MOC) participation status. The display includes the status of all a physician’s specialty (and subspecialty, if any) certificates from an ABMS Member Board.

The display resulting from a search includes the status of all the physician’s individual specialty (and subspecialty, if any) certificates. For each specialty and subspecialty certificate listed, either a “Yes”, “No” or “Not Required” response is given as to whether that physician is participating in the MOC program of his or her specialty board(s). A display of “No” could indicate that the physician has chosen not to fulfill MOC requirements for that certificate. A display of “Not Required” means that certification was achieved in that specialty before the certifying board established its MOC program, and therefore MOC program participation is not required. If MOC status information is missing from the display, it could mean that the physician’s certifying board(s) has not yet made available his or her MOC status to ABMS. As each board has specific requirements, it is always best practice to check with the individual ABMS board.

In this instance, contact the Membership of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. This group can respond to specific inquiries to confirm that a doctor is certified as a specialist and the year of certification.

The information in the ABMS certification database is supplied by the Member Boards according to their established schedule. The database is refreshed daily, but occurs only after the information received from the Member Boards is thoroughly reviewed and verified by ABMS for completeness and accuracy. Once this process is complete, the information is incorporated into the database and made accessible through ABMS Solutions’ products and ABMS licensee partners. The information is displayed within the ABMS Board Certification Credentials Profile, which is officially recognized as primary source documentation by the Joint Commission, NCQA, URAC and other key accrediting agencies.

• In the case of newly certified physicians, the certifying Member Board submits information within two weeks of when the physician is formally notified or the physician’s certification status is publicly displayed.
• Information about a physician’s MOC status is provided by the certifying Member Board according to their established MOC cycle.
• Physicians also may make a request of their certifying Member Board to update personal information in their record, such as a name change or home or business address. The Member Board provides this information to ABMS.

Please refer to your signed legal agreement for clarification on sharing the printed ABMS certification data with others, or contact ABMS Solutions at (800) 733-2267.

A physician’s certification status can be referenced, but the date of certification may not be revealed on a website.

ABMS certification information may be added to a credentialing software program as long as doing so abides by the confidentiality terms stated in the legal agreement that governs the use of ABMS data. Dates may be entered into a credentialing program for internal use as long as the information will not be accessible to anyone not covered in the agreement.

Please contact the state medical board or the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) DocInfo service. This service provides professional information on physicians and physician assistants licensed in the United States including information on disciplinary sanctions, education, medical specialty, licensure history, and locations. Contact FSMB at (817) 868-4000.