AHRQ Releases Quality Improvement Learning Modules for Clinicians To Earn Board-Specific Recertification

New practice improvement tools from AHRQ are available to help physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners obtain certification in their fields, including the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Part IV, the physician assistant performance improvement-continuing medical education credits, and continuing education credits. The Health Assessment Recertification Project for Diversely Trained Clinicians (MOC Part IV & PA-QI) streamlines the MOC documentation process while offering user-friendly printable data collection forms and electronic entry options to help clinicians efficiently complete and submit data collection requirements.

Health Assessment Recertification Project for Diversely Trained Clinicians (MOC Part IV & PA-QI)

AHRQ presents the following suite of quality improvement learning modules for clinicians to earn board-specific recertification.

User-Friendly Recertification Health Assessment Project for Diverse Clinicians—easy-to-complete quality improvement activity to help clinicians improve health assessment documentation in medical records (electronic or paper-based). Download the User Guide and interactive PDF file to your own computer for data collection and processing. We encourage yet do not require clinicians to work together to design and discuss impact of the quality improvement intervention program (Learn more below: Practices Can Help Clinicians Work Together to Complete Recertification Projects.

User Guide (PDF File - 1.37 MB)—Provides navigation and submission instructions for clinicians to receive Board-specific recertification credit: MOC Part IV (ABP and ABFM); PI-CME (PAs); and CE credit for related Webinar material (NPs). The User Guide is current as of January 14, 2016. Note: the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) discontinued its Self-Directed Practice Improvement Module (PIM) program in late January 2016. Before beginning the module, you may wish to check to see if your Board has made any changes to its requirements.

Interactive PDF (PDF File - 6.47 MB)—To be stored on clinician's own computer system to select appropriate certification Board(s) and complete data entry. Includes hyperlinked resources about health risk assessment, quality improvement cycles, evaluation metrics and methods, and practice approach to quality improvement.

This interactive PDF must be downloaded to your computer and opened in Adobe Acrobat Reader to function properly. To do that, right click (Windows) or hold Control and click (Mac) on the link to the PDF, then choose the option that says "Save this target as" (Windows) or "Download linked file as" (Mac). Choose a location on your computer to save the file, then open the file from that location. To ensure the PDF opens with Acrobat Reader, right click the file and select "Reader" from the "Open with" choices.
To use a screen reader application with this module, please change your Acrobat reading preferences under the Screen Reader Options to "Only read the currently visible pages." Then close and reopen the PDF; you do not have to download it again. Instructions on how to change the setting are in Accessing PDF Documents with Assistive Technology. If you have difficulty after changing your assistive technology settings or need help making the changes, contact our technical assistance number at 301-427-1600. Please specify the module you are trying to use and the nature of your concern.
AANP-CE credit for nurse practitioners who complete the AHRQ-generated webinar, Implementing Health Assessments in Primary Care: A How-to Guide .

April 28, 2:30 – 3:30 pm ET, "Part 1: Prepared Clinicians Confer on Strategies to Complete Health Assessments MOC IV and CME QI (for PAs)"

AHRQ’s easy-to-complete recertification project, "Health Assessments: A Primary Care Practice Improvement Activity," fosters clinicians’ capacity to document health assessments—such as the wellness assessment—in patients’ medical records (paper or electronic). In an effort to assist clinicians (Physicians for MOC Part IV credit and CME QI for PAs) transition from individual quality improvement recertification exercises into sustainable quality improvement enterprise, AHRQ and CDN are hosting a two-part virtual classroom for this project. This free clinician-led, Web-based meeting (in live and subsequently recorded format), offers diversified clinicians an opportunity to discuss THEIR strategies and findings. Select to register

Before April 28th Webinar, clinicians should have conducted initial steps (about 60-90 minutes):

Download Health Assessments Users’ Guide and interactive PDF module.
Enter personal information to your system.
Complete pre- and post-assessment of health assessment knowledge.
Review Baseline Performance Data Collection, Section 4, pages 1-14 of the interactive module. The discussion on April 28th, will focus on the clinicians discussing their strategies for the following steps:
- Target population.
- Selection of three health assessment topics (and performance indicators).
- Assessment of practice priorities.
- Review patient sampling criteria.
- Discuss your use of data collection forms, paper or electronic.

Practices Can Help Clinicians Work Together to Complete Recertification Projects (PDF File - 2.6 MB)—Diverse clinician groups—physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners—can work together in quality/practice improvement at the practice level to realize greater satisfaction and sustained impact of quality improvement pursuits. This document highlights potential synergy between organizations' current infrastructure and otherwise disparate clinicians' pursuit of recertification requirements.

Page last reviewed March 2016

Internet Citation: Health Assessment Recertification Project for Diversely Trained Clinicians (MOC Part IV & PA-QI). March 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/continuing-ed/moc-ha/index.html