ABOG will consider structured quality improvement (QI) projects in obstetrics and gynecology for Continuing Certification Part IV credit. These projects must demonstrate improvement in care and be based on accepted improvements in science and methodology.
Application Process
Apply
To apply, please submit your application via the online Portfolio Program application system, MOCAM. You can access the online Program Portfolio application system through the Part IV Practice Improvement section of the Physician Portal. Further details regarding application requirements are outlined below. (Fig 1)
Review Process
The ABOG staff reviews applications within a two-week timeframe. During this review period, applicants may be contacted for further clarification if needed.
Report Participants
The applicant and/or the sponsor representative must submit a list of participants by October 15. This is crucial to ensure that processing is completed in time for the Continuing Certification deadline on November 15. Participants should be submitted via the online application system.
Please note that any participant lists received after October 15 will result in Part IV credit being awarded in the following year's Continuing Certification period.
Eligibility Criteria for QI efforts
QI efforts in obstetrics and gynecology that qualify for CC Part IV credit must meet the following standards:
- Ensure that leadership and management at the project level are capable of overseeing adherence to participation criteria. This includes tracking participant details such as their dates of involvement and their roles in relation to the definition of meaningful participation.
- Address aspects of care that the physician can influence within one or more of the six Institute of Medicine quality dimensions: safety, effectiveness, timeliness, equity, efficiency, and patient-centeredness.
- Align measures with the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle.
- Establish a specific, measurable, specialty-relevant, and timely aim for improvement.
- Utilize appropriate, relevant, and evidence-based performance measures, including those related to patient care at the appropriate level of analysis (physician, clinic, care team, etc.).
- Incorporate suitable interventions to be tested for improvement.
- Implement thorough and consistent data collection and reporting of performance data to effectively assess the impact of the interventions over two or more improvement cycles.
- Represent an effort to translate or implement an improvement into routine care, or to disseminate or spread an existing improvement into practice.
- Ensure that there are sufficient and appropriate resources available to support the successful completion of the activity, while avoiding any conflicts of interest.
Earning Credit
To earn CC Part IV credit for participating in approved QI efforts, physicians must:
- Attest that they have meaningfully participated in the approved QI effort,
- Have their attestation cosigned or reported to ABOG by the project leader; and
- Reflect on the QI effort.
What counts as meaningful participation?
Participation is considered meaningful when:
- The QI effort is intended to provide clear benefit to the physician’s patients and is directly related to the physician’s clinical practice and/or the specialty of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
- The physician is actively involved in the QI effort, including, at a minimum, working with care team members to plan and implement interventions, interpreting performance data to assess the impact of the interventions, and making appropriate course corrections in the improvement effort.
- The physician can personally reflect on the activity, describing the changes that were performed in their practice and/or institution, and how it affected the way the care is delivered.
Physicians can claim CC Part IV credit each time they meet meaningful participation requirements as long as they are implementing new interventions.
