Profession
Internists' board retools its Web site
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Jan. 7, 2008
The American Board of Internal Medicine has unveiled a new Web site, providing internists and subspecialists with access to information about certification, maintenance of certification and practice performance. Also, health plans, policymakers, residents, consumers and others may use the site to find information about board certification and how it can drive quality.
Among the new features on the site (link):
- Doctors can utilize a "Physician Login" tool that gives a registered user fast access to a individual home page, which details status in the certification and maintenance of certification processes. A "search by specialty" feature provides links.
- Consumers can find out whether their physicians are certified and learn how board certification and maintenance of certification impact patient care.
- Health systems, hospitals and policymakers can find information on the importance of board certification and how to work with ABIM to engage physicians in quality improvement.
As of March 2007, more than 200,000 physicians were ABIM-certified -- about one in three practicing doctors. In 1990, internal medicine certification became time-limited, with certified internists required to renew their certification every 10 years.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2008/01/07/prbf0107.htm.
