Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 12, March 23, 2024
(a) Beginning with the licensure renewal
period commencing January 1, 2005, proof of completion of 25 credit hours of
continuing medical education in the preceding biennial period will be required
for licensure renewal for medical doctors. The 25 credit hours for the January
1, 2005, license renewal period may be completed in either AMA PRA Category 1
or AMA PRA Category 2 activities, and must include 3 hours in patient safety
and risk management.
(b) Proof of
completion of 100 credit hours of continuing medical education in the preceding
biennial period, including at least 2 hours of approved training in child abuse
recognition and reporting in accordance with §
16.108(b)
(relating to child abuse recognition and reporting-mandatory training
requirement), will be required for licensure renewal for medical doctors.
(1) At least 20 credit hours shall be
completed in AMA PRA category 1 approved activities. At least 12 credit hours
shall be completed in AMA PRA Category 1 or AMA PRA Category 2 approved
activities in the area of patient safety and risk management. Approved
activities in the area of patient safety and risk management may include topics
such as improving medical records and recordkeeping, reducing medical errors,
professional conduct and ethics, improving communications, preventative
medicine and healthcare quality improvement. The remaining credit hours shall
be completed in AMA PRA Category 1 or AMA PRA Category 2 approved activities.
Credit will not be granted for courses in office management or practice
building.
(2) Physicians shall
retain official documentation of attendance for 2 years after renewal, and
shall certify completed activities on a form provided by the Board for that
purpose, to be filed with the biennial renewal form. Official documentation
proving completion of continuing medical education activities shall be
produced, upon Board demand, under random audits of reported credit hours.
Electronic submission of documentation is permissible to prove compliance with
this subsection. Noncompliance may result in disciplinary proceedings under
section 41(6) of the Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P. S.
422.41(6)).
(i) Acceptable documentation for Category 1
activities are:
(A) AMA PRA
certificates.
(B) Certificate of
completion of a Category 1 activity sponsored by an organization accredited by
ACCME or designee of the ACCME.
(C)
Certificates from a medical professional society or specialty certification by
a member organization of the American Board of Medical Specialties.
(D) Healthcare system credential
certification.
(E) Third party
payor credentialing certification.
(F) Certification by a CME organization whose
standards meet or exceed those established by AMA PRA.
(ii) Acceptable documentation for Category 2
activities are:
(A) Documentation from sources
acceptable for Category 1 activities.
(B) Documentation maintained by the physician
contemporaneous to the CME activity such as personal log books, diaries,
journal notes or applications for credentialing or certification by an
organization recognized by the ACCME or designee of the ACCME. The
documentation shall identify the activity and the amount of time spent in the
activity.
(3)
The following exemptions apply for certain physicians:
(i) A physician applying for licensure in
this Commonwealth for the first time shall be exempt from the continuing
medical education requirement for the biennial renewal period following initial
licensure.
(ii) A physician holding
a current temporary training license shall be exempt from the continuing
medical education requirement.
(iii) A retired physician who provides care
only to immediate family members shall be exempt from the continuing medical
education requirement.
(iv) A
physician who is on inactive status shall be exempt from the continuing medical
education requirement, except that a physician who is seeking to reinstate an
inactive or lapsed license shall show proof of compliance with the continuing
education requirement for the preceding biennium.
(4) A physician suspended for disciplinary
reasons is not exempt from the requirements of this section.
(5) Waiver of the CME requirements may be
permitted, as follows:
(i) The Board may grant
a hardship waiver of all or a part of the continuing medical education
requirement in cases of serious illness, military service or other good cause
provided that the public's safety and welfare will not be jeopardized by the
granting of the waiver.
(ii) A
request for waiver must be made in writing, with appropriate documentation, and
include a description of circumstances sufficient to show why compliance is
impossible.
(iii) Waiver requests
will be evaluated by the Board on a case-by-case basis. The Board will send
written notification of its approval or denial of a waiver request.
The provisions of this §
16.19 issued under section 910 of
the Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error (MCARE) Act (40 P.S. §
1303.910); amended under section 8 of the
Medical Practice Act of 1985 (63 P.S. §
422.8); and
23 Pa.C.S. §
6383(b)(2).
