The American College Of Obstetricians And Gynecologists Joins The American Board Of Medical Specialties' Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program

CHICAGO, April 24, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has announced that the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has joined ABMS' Multi-Specialty Portfolio Program™ (Portfolio Program). Under the Portfolio Program, ACOG physicians who are Board Certified by one of the 21 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 their involvement in selected ACOG quality improvement (QI) activities.  

"Collaborative team-based care is central to our patient safety work," said Hal C. Lawrence, III, MD, FACOG, ACOG Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer. "Not only is this another step forward for our members, but also our partners across family medicine, pediatrics, and anesthesia. ACOG fellows working to advance maternal safety through our Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM) program may be the first to benefit, but we look forward to more quality improvement across the breadth of the specialty."        

The ACOG Portfolio Program will be administered through the organization's Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Department; the AIM program is the only ACOG-approved QI activity at this time. The AIM program is a national data-driven maternal safety and QI initiative focused on reducing severe maternal events at the hospital level and overall maternal deaths in the United States through the implementation of the following patient safety bundles:

• Obstetric Hemorrhage
• Severe Hypertension in Pregnancy
• Safe Reduction of Primary Cesarean Birth
• Maternal Venous Thromboembolism Prevention

The AIM program offers implementation and data support, peer-to-peer engagement, and access to its national data center to track rapid-cycle QI efforts in maternal safety. ACOG can now offer its members MOC credit for their QI efforts through participation in the AIM program.

"While global maternal mortality rates have fallen, the United States is among the countries that have seen an increase," said Lois Margaret Nora, MD, JD, MBA, ABMS President and Chief Executive Officer. "The Portfolio Program's ability to help ACOG recognize its members' dedication and participation in the four areas that AIM has highlighted will help prevent the loss of life, and improve maternal health across the country."

David W. Price, MD, FAAFP, FACEHP, Executive Director of the Portfolio Program, said, "ACOG, through its work with AIM, has identified areas in which QI and improvements in practice can have a dramatic impact on patient lives and their families. By recognizing the work they are already doing to improve maternal care, the Portfolio Program offers ACOG a means to engage and encourage even more physicians to participate in the AIM program to the benefit of their patients."

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 2,000 improvement efforts have been completed by Portfolio Program participants.

About ABMS
Established in 1933, the American Board of Medical Specialties (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 860,000 physicians are certified in one or more of the approved 37 specialties and 86 subspecialties offered by the ABMS Member Boards.  For more information about ABMS, visit abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.

About The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation's leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 58,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women's health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org

SOURCE American Board of Medical Specialties

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