Continuing medical education (CME) consists of educational activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. The content of CME is that body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public. All educational activities offering CME credit must be offered through an organization accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

Physicians rely on accredited continuing medical education as one of the support systems that helps them continuously improve their practice and their care of patients. Participation in accredited CME helps physicians meet requirements for maintenance of specialty board certification, credentialing, membership in professional societies, and other professional privileges, not to mention CME credit is mandatory in many states for medical licensure. Additionally, CME participation is also increasingly used by hospitals, managed care organizations, and third-party payers, as part of their credentialing and reappointment process.

The ACCME defines joint providership as the providership of a CME activity by one or more accredited and one or more non-accredited organizations. ACCME accredited CME providers that plan and present one or more activities with non-ACCME accredited providers are engaging in “joint providership.” The accredited provider must take responsibility for a CME activity when it is presented in cooperation with a non-accredited organization and must use the appropriate accreditation statement.

The first step is to review the FSMB Education Mission and Purpose Statement and determine if your program meets the FSMB mission. If it does, complete the Joint Provider CME Application & Planning Worksheet, and return it to FSMB accreditation staff. The application will be reviewed, and if the activity meets the ACCME criteria and is in-line with the FSMB mission, the contact person listed on the application will receive a contract to be executed by both organizations.

FSMB will partner with your staff throughout the development and execution of the activity to ensure they have reviewed and understand the ACCME guidelines. The nonaccredited provider maintains control of program development, budget, logistics, marketing, revenue generation, on-site management, etc. FSMB accreditation staff will provide templates and other relevant information associated with the learning activity. FSMB will determine how many AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ the activity is eligible for after reviewing the final educational program outline. FSMB accreditation staff is available to answer questions and offer guidance on complying with the ACCME guidelines.

Depending on your type of membership status with the FSMB, an accreditation services fee may be required. The fee covers the following essential services: 1) vetting, review and approval of the CME application; 2) review and approval of promotional materials; 3) evaluation and post-test development; 4) database management of individual CME credits; and 5) review of post-activity documentation and materials. Please contact FSMB’s CME Department at edu@fsmb.org with any questions pertaining to your status.