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All board certification equal, study says

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, September 29, 2009

Re-sparking the debate of hospitalist board certification, a new study says that the three major board certifying organizations—The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), American Board of Physician Specialties (ABPS), and the American Osteopathic Association’s Bureau of Osteopathic Specialists (AOABOS)—require the same amount of certification and recertification requirements.

A third-party, The Associated Industries of Florida Service Corporation, conducted the study, according a Sept. 24 ABPS press release. The two-page study compares the three organizations’ requirements by medical specialty, including years of required training, exams, documentation, and CME hours.

In January, ABPS announced it had created the first and only certifying board for hospital medicine, called the American Board of Hospital Medicine (ABHM). Days later, the Society of Hospital Medicine, the professional hospitalist organization, sent a cautionary e-mail to its members stating that SHM had no ties with ABPS or its affiliated ABHM. SHM later retracted the message stating that it did not have the opportunity to review the ABHM requirements thoroughly.

“ABPS standards are demonstrably as rigorous, if not more rigorous, than that of the other board certifying bodies,” said William J. Carbone, chief executive officer of ABPS and the American Association of Physician Specialists, Inc., in the ABPS press release.

This comparative study comes at a time when industry whispers indicate that the other certifying board, ABMS, will soon officially announce the Recognition of Focused Practice for Hospital Medicine (RFP-HM) program.

“We’re in the process of working on our announcement,” said ABMS in a statement to HCPro, Inc.

Stay tuned for more details! Read the latest news and reader comments on board certification the HosptialistLeadership.com blog.

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