American Society of Anesthesiologists Joins ABMS Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program

Board Certified Physicians Can Now Obtain Continuing Certification Credit for Participating in the Perioperative Surgical Home Learning Collaborative

News provided by

American Board of Medical Specialties

Apr 09, 2018, 11:00 ET

CHICAGO, April 9, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced that it has joined the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program™ (Portfolio Program). Under the Portfolio Program, physicians who are Board Certified by one of the 20 of 24 ABMS Member Boards participating in the Portfolio Program can now earn Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Improvement in Medical Practice (Part IV) credit for participating in the Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) Learning Collaborative.

"We are excited to join this ABMS program and believe the quality and practice improvement benefits of the PSH are far reaching, with outcomes aligned with the goals of the Portfolio Program including increased clinical efficiencies and enhanced collaboration and communication with colleagues and patients," said ASA President James D. Grant, MD, MBA, FASA. "Having physicians from across the country participate in the PSH Learning Collaborative to implement, optimize, or expand a valuable quality, performance, and process improvement model of care like the PSH at their facilities, while earning MOC credit, will further encourage collaborative physician-led, team-based care."

ASA's participation in the Portfolio Program will be administered through its Economics and Practice Innovation Department. Physicians will be able to earn MOC Part IV credit for their involvement in selected ASA quality improvement activities. Currently, participation in the PSH Learning Collaborative is the only ASA-approved quality improvement activity for the Portfolio Program.

The PSH is a patient-centered, physician-led, team-based model of coordinated care that spans the entire surgical experience, from the decision to have surgery to discharge and beyond. The PSH model was formally launched by ASA in 2012 as an innovative model of care designed to achieve the triple aim of improving health, improving the delivery of health care, and reducing costs. In 2014, the ASA partnered with Premier, Inc. to establish a national learning collaborative to develop, pilot, and evaluate the PSH model. ASA is currently accepting applications for the third iteration of the learning collaborative, "The PSH Learning Collaborative 2020," which will run May 1, 2018 to April 30, 2020.

"The ASA has created a truly comprehensive program that concentrates on the core improvements most sectors in health care are striving to address – improved delivery, better outcomes, and cost reduction," stated Richard E. Hawkins, MD, ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer. "Joining the Portfolio Program will help ASA expand and extend the PSH Collaborative's reach to the benefit of surgical patients throughout the country."

David W. Price, MD, FAAFP, FACEHP, Executive Director of the Portfolio Program, noted, "Through its PSH Learning Collaborative, ASA has identified areas where improvements in practice can have a dramatic impact on patient lives and their families. By recognizing the work they are already doing to improve care, the Portfolio Program offers ASA a means to engage and encourage even more physicians to participate in the PSH program."

To date, the ABMS Portfolio Program has helped engage physicians in quality and practice improvement initiatives at hospitals and health systems across the country, with many showing improvement in care outcomes. Since its inception, more than 2,600 improvement efforts have been completed by Portfolio Program participants.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS
Founded in 1905, ASA is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 52,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount. Like ASA on Facebook; follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

About ABMS
Established in 1933, ABMS continues to be the leading not-for-profit organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. ABMS establishes the standards its 24 Member Boards use to develop and implement educational and professional evaluation, assessment, and certification of physician specialists. More than 880,000 physicians are certified in one or more of the approved 39 specialties and 86 subspecialties offered by the ABMS Member Boards. For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties