Home Research Research Library Family physician participation in maintenance of certification Family physician participation in maintenance of certification 2011 Author(s) Xierali, Imam M, Rinaldo, Jason C, Green, Larry A, Petterson, Stephen M, Phillips, Robert L, Bazemore, Andrew W, Newton, Warren P, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Volume 9(3):203-210 Source Annals of Family Medicine PURPOSE: The American Board of Family Medicine has completed the 7-year transition of all of its diplomates into Maintenance of Certification (MOC). Participation in this voluntary process must be broad-based and balanced for MOC to have any practical national impact on health care. This study explores family physicians’ geographic, demographic, and practice characteristics associated with the variations in MOC participation to examine whether MOC has potential as a viable mechanism for dissemination of information or for altering practice. METHODS: To investigate characteristics associated with differential participation in MOC by family physicians, we performed a cross-sectional comparison of all active family physicians using descriptive and multinomial logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: Eighty-five percent of active family physicians in this study (n = 70,323) have current board certification. Ninety-one percent of all active board-certified family physicians eligible for MOC are participating in MOC. Physicians who work in poorer neighborhoods (odds ratio [OR] = 1.105; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.038-1.176), who are US-born or foreign-born international medical graduates (OR = 1.221; 95% CI, 1.124-1.326; OR = 1.444; 95% CI, 1.238-1.684, respectively), or who are solo practitioners (OR = 1.460; 95% CI, 1.345-1.585) are more likely to have missed initial MOC requirements than those from a large, undifferentiated reference group of certified family physicians. When age is held constant, female physicians are less likely to miss initial MOC requirements (OR = 0.849; 95% CI, 0.794-0.908). Physicians practicing in rural areas were found to be performing similarly in meeting initial MOC requirements to those in urban areas (OR = 0.966; 95% CI, 0.919-1.015, not significant). CONCLUSION: Large numbers of family physicians are participating in MOC. The significant association between practicing in underserved areas and lapsed board certification, however, warrants more research examining causes of differential participation. The penetrance of MOC engagement shows that MOC has the potential to convey substantial practice-relevant medical information to physicians. Thus, it offers a potential channel through which to improve health care knowledge and medical practice. ABFM Research Read all 2022 Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection Go to Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection 2014 Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes Go to Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes 2011 Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass? Go to Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass? 2009 Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination. Go to Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination.
Author(s) Xierali, Imam M, Rinaldo, Jason C, Green, Larry A, Petterson, Stephen M, Phillips, Robert L, Bazemore, Andrew W, Newton, Warren P, and Puffer, James C Topic(s) Family Medicine Certification Volume 9(3):203-210 Source Annals of Family Medicine
ABFM Research Read all 2022 Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection Go to Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection 2014 Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes Go to Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes 2011 Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass? Go to Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass? 2009 Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination. Go to Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination.
2022 Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection Go to Family Physician Racial Identity: An Analysis of “Other” Race Selection and Implications for Future Data Collection
2014 Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes Go to Medical specialty boards can help measure graduate medical education outcomes
2011 Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass? Go to Performance on the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) certification examination: are superior test-taking skills alone sufficient to pass?
2009 Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination. Go to Comparing the Performance of Allopathically and Osteopathically Trained Physicians on the American Board of Family Medicine’s Certification Examination.