The Residency Performance Improvement Program (ResPIP) pathway is a means for residency programs to demonstrate their ability to develop and oversee the successful completion of Performance Improvement (PI) projects for residents and faculty that meet the ABFM Family Medicine Certification requirements. Approved sponsors will be able to develop and oversee PI projects without having to submit an application for each activity for ABFM review.

Your residency program is able to submit these activities for approval through the ResPIP process available at: https://theabfm.mymocam.com/respip/.

To participate in this pathway, residency programs must undergo an application process that assesses several components of organizational capacity for teaching PI fundamentals and conducting PI projects. Components that ABFM will assess include:

  • Institutional characteristics such as leadership and organizational type
  • Organizational history of conducting PI projects
  • Organizational readiness for developing, conducting, and supervising PI projects that will qualify for ABFM Performance Improvement credit
  • Infrastructure for supporting PI projects that meet standards and meaningful participation
  • Commitment to providing PI educational activities
  • Examples of recently completed PI projects that meet ABFM Performance Improvement Activity standards. 

    • Application process

    To be considered for approval for this pathway, interested residency programs will complete and submit an application that includes an overview of the organization and an example PI project. Applications will be reviewed by ABFM staff and/or faculty. During the review, applicants may be asked to clarify responses or provide additional information (this is not an indication of an application’s acceptance or rejection). Residency Programs in good standing will have the opportunity to renew their designation at the end of the 3-year period.

    • Organizational requirements

    Family Medicine Residency Programs participating in this program will be expected to meet the following requirements and responsibilities:

    Review Committee


    ABFM expects that residency programs have established a review committee or group to systematically review Performance Improvement (PI) projects against the ABFM standards and approve those projects that meet the standards for Performance Improvement credit. The residency program will be required to submit a progress report about the organization and a subset of PI projects in the portfolio one time during the three-year approval period.

    • ABFM expects that residency programs will identify a portfolio manager to oversee the program’s portfolio, submit required reports, report approved projects and physician completion results.

    Progress Reports

    • To view the minimum amount of information required as part of the physician attestation process, view and download the sample attestation.

    Notify ABFM of Project Completion

    • The residency program notifies ABFM in a timely manner when a physician or resident has completed an attestation so that Performance Improvement credit can be awarded.

    Track Physician and Resident Participation and Attestations

    • Physicians and residents participating in PI projects through this program formally attest that they have fulfilled the ABFM’s Meaningful Participation Requirements (Section C) in order to earn Performance Improvement credit. The residency program manages the attestation process, document, approvals, and adjudicates any disputes regarding participation.

    Notify ABFM of Approved Project

    • The residency program informs ABFM of newly approved PI projects in a timely manner after approval. ABFM needs current information about approved projects to ensure physicians and residents get credit for completing a PI project.

    Portfolio Manager

    • Performance improvement requirements

    All projects within the program must be compliant with the following requirements in order for the project to be approved for Performance Improvement credit:

    Defined Project Aim

    • A Performance Improvement (PI) project must have an explicit aim for improvement that will benefit patients and/or the residency program.  The project aim should be expressed in a statement that describes what is to be improved, a desired numerical improvement goal, and a timeframe for achieving improvement.

    Include At Least One Improvement Cycle

    • ABFM requires a minimum of baseline measurement prior to implementing an intervention, a re-audit post-intervention, and a comparison of the two.

    Comply with the ABFM Industry Support Policy

    • The ABFM Industry Support Policy is available here.

    Use Standard Quality Improvement Methods

    • ABFM is not linked to any specific improvement process. However, we encourage the use of standard methodologies such as Six Sigma, The Model for Improvement, Lean, Continuous Quality Improvement, and others.

     

    • Meaningful participation

    For Family Medicine Certification Requirements, meaningful participation means each physician or resident must:

    • Complete a self-administered patient care audit or assessment appropriate to your work setting.
    • Provide direct or consultative care to patients as part of the improvement project (if you provide patient care)
    • Participate in implementing the project’s interventions (the changes designed to improve care or improve processes appropriate to your work setting)
    • Review project data that reflect the outcomes of the care you provide or the work activity, in keeping with the project’s measurement plan
    • Demonstrate active collaboration in the implementation of the project (e.g., team meetings, data analysis, implementation training, etc.)

    To view the minimum amount of information required as part of the physician attestation process, view and download the sample attestation.

    • Residency (pi) Program Sponsors

    To review a complete list of Approved Sponsors able to develop, monitor, and approve Performance Improvement (PI) projects for Family Medicine Certification credit, visit https://theabfm.mymocam.com/respip/sponsors/.

    • submitting completions

    As an approved Residency PI Program sponsor you are able to submit physician completion data for those ABFM Diplomates and residents who have met the meaningful participation requirements for 1 or more of your approved projects.

    To view the minimum amount of information required as part of the physician attestation process, view and download the sample attestation.

    DASHBOARD

    Upon logging in, you will see a list of all of your submissions in the MY APPLICATIONS card on the left side of the dashboard. On the right side of the dashboard is a list of all applications that can be created. Select the Residency Program—Physician Completion Report option to submit one or more ABFM Diplomates or residents for Family Medicine Certification credit.

    Dashboard Image

    COMPLETING THE APPLICATION 

    Upon opening the application, provide a unique name. It is suggested that you enter today’s date. In the second field, assign your organization’s name to the application. In the third field, select your Residency Program name if the value is not defaulted for you.

    For each ABFM Diplomate or resident being submitted for credit, add a row to the table. For each Diplomate or resident provide the following information:

    Board ID: The ABFM Board ID of the Diplomate or resident. ABFM Board IDs are 6 digits in length and being with a one (1) or zero (0). Last Name: The last name, as provided to ABFM. First Name: The first name, as provided to ABFM. The name must match (e.g., Jeffrey vs. Jeff). Email: The email address for the Diplomate or resident.

     

    ACTIONS

    Actions available are:

    Select the Pencil icon on the left to make the table row editable. Select the Add Row button to add another Diplomate or resident to the application Select the Import button to populate the table from a compatible Microsoft Excel file. Select the Export button to create a compatible Microsoft Excel file that can be used to import data.
    • Selected PI Project: Select the approved project the Diplomate or resident has participated in.
    • Start Date: Indicate the date the Diplomate or resident started participating in the project. The date may not be before the start date of the selected PI project.
    • End Date: Indicate the date the Diplomate or resi]ident met the participation requirements for the project. The date may not be in the future and may not be after the end date of the selected PI project.
    • Instance ID: This is a calculated value.
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    • Contact us

    Need more information about participating in the Residency Performance Improvement Program?

    Please contact the ABFM Support Center at 877-223-7437, or you may email us at [email protected].