The American Hospital Association Joins ABMS Multi-Speciality Portfolio Program

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has announced that the American Hospital Association (AHA) has joined the ABMS Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program^TM (Portfolio Program). Hospitals and health systems participating in the AHA’s Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) Hospital Improvement Innovation Network (HIIN) can now facilitate Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Improvement in Medical Practice (Part IV) credit for physicians who are Board Certified by one of the 21 of 24 ABMS Member Boards participating in the Portfolio Program.

The HRET HIIN is the first HIIN in the country to offer this service to its more than 1,600 participating hospitals. Through ABMS MOC Part IV credit, physicians can meet the requirements for maintaining their certification while meaningfully participating in quality improvement programs in their organizations. Partnering on ABMS MOC Part IV also will reduce duplication of quality improvement efforts; HRET HIIN hospitals currently are engaged in improvement efforts across 11 hospital-acquired condition topics. Physicians’ roles in these projects may vary from team member to physician champion. Projects will be data-driven, focused on patient safety, and designed to implement evidence-based best practices. AHA hopes this program will encourage the development of long-lasting improvements, while strengthening physicians’ connection to the improvement efforts of their broader organizations.

“We are very pleased to be the first HIIN to provide this valuable service,” said Jay Bhatt, DO, HRET President and AHA Chief Medical Officer. “Aligning physicians’ pursuit of their Board Certification with hospitals’ quality improvement efforts will accelerate our collective efforts to improve patient safety by promoting team-based care delivery.”

“We are excited to be working with the AHA to assist their member hospitals and health systems in engaging their medical staff members, and offering them the opportunity to earn MOC credit for their work in these important and impactful quality and practice improvement activities and patient safety programs,” said Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA, ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer. “Together, we can improve the quality of care provided in these institutions to the ultimate benefit of patients and families across the country.”

David W. Price, MD, FAAFP, FACEHP, Executive Director of the Portfolio Program, noted, “The Portfolio Program continues to illustrate how the Boards Community, in partnership with a wide range of health care organizations, can impact patient safety and practice improvement. The activities developed by AHA meet the high standards of the Portfolio Program and lend themselves to helping hospitals and health systems make significant and practical practice and quality improvements that will improve patient safety and improve outcomes.”

To date, the Portfolio Program has helped engage physicians in quality and practice improvement initiatives at hospitals and health systems across the country, with many showing improvement in care outcomes. Since its inception, more than 2,000 improvement efforts have been completed by Portfolio Program participants.

About ABMS

Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) continues to be the leading not-for-profit organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. ABMS establishes the standards its 24 Member Boards use to develop and implement educational and professional evaluation, assessment, and certification of physician specialists. More than 860,000 physicians are certified in one or more of the approved 37 specialties and 86 subspecialties offered by the ABMS Member Boards. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.