| New Details About the Fourth Component of EMCC | |  |
The fourth component of EMCC, Assessment of Practice Performance (APP), is designed for diplomates who are clinically active and is based on diplomates’ involvement in a national, regional, or local practice improvement (PI) plan of their choice that meets ABEM’s basic requirements.
ABEM encourages diplomates’ continuous participation in a practice improvement (PI) program in their own institution. Diplomates’ involvement in national, regional, or local PI programs forms the core of ABEM’s APP requirements.
APP Basic Requirements
Clinically active diplomates will attest to ABEM that they have participated in an acceptable PI program. Diplomates will not submit their practice data to ABEM.
Diplomates will be required to attest that their own clinical practice data and patient feedback data are included in their APP program, data that are reported back to the diplomate may be at either the individual or group level. Diplomates in any practice setting involving the practice of Emergency Medicine as defined by The Model of the Clinical Practice of Emergency Medicine (EM Model) are eligible, including urgent care, office-based practices, correctional facilities, and observation units are eligible to participate in APP.
Patient Care Practice Improvement
Twice in the diplomate’s 10-year certification cycle, by the end of year 4, and again by the end of year 8 diplomates will attest that they have participated in an acceptable PI program based on their patient care activities. Diplomates will complete a checklist of the requirements for the PI program at EMCC Online and providing the name of an appropriate individual who can independently verify that the diplomate completed all required components. ABEM will verify 10% of all attestations, selected at random annually.
The types of practice improvement programs required for APP are modeled on the types of programs already in place in many hospitals and urgent care facilities. Diplomates will be required to participate in direct or consultative patient care activities that fall within the broad scope of the EM Model, to assess their practice performance against national or similarly robust standards, to develop an improvement process based on the results of their findings, and to reassess their performance based on their improvement activities.
Interpersonal Relations and Communication/Professionalism Feedback
Diplomates will attest one time within their 10-year certification cycle that they have participated in a communication/professionalism feedback program, such as the patient surveys used by most hospitals. To meet APP requirements, diplomates will complete a checklist describing their communication/professionalism feedback program at EMCC Online and provide the name of a verifier.
APP is designed for diplomates involved in patient care activities. Clinically inactive diplomates will not be required to participate in APP.
ABEM will not charge a fee for Assessment of Practice Performance.
Revised 10/24/07
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