Maintain Certification

About Maintenance of Certification (MOC)
MOC embodies the principles of lifelong learning and continuous improvement. It is designed for the benefit of the public and the profession and aims to:

• establish and maintain high standards for patient care in ophthalmology, and provide physicians with the means to continually assess and improve their ability to meet these standards;
• ensure that physicians are being assessed by reliable and valid measures to continually improve patient care; and
• communicate information about physicians’ ongoing participation that is understandable, credible and relevant to the patients’ and the public’s needs.

The goal of MOC is to continually set the standards of excellence in the quality of ophthalmic care by focusing on six general competencies integral to quality care: patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. These competencies were established by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the umbrella organization for the country’s 24 recognized medical specialty boards, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The ABO also recognizes a seventh competency in surgical skills.

The American Board of Ophthalmology’s MOC process is the only maintenance of certification process for eye care specialists officially recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties.

The Evolution of MOC
The practice of medicine has changed dramatically since the founding of the medical specialty certification movement in 1916. What began as a one-time assessment of standards to obtain a lifetime certificate has evolved into a lifelong certification process that works to ensure physicians stay current in medical knowledge and skills for as long as they are in clinical practice. The American Board of Ophthalmology believes all diplomates should actively maintain their certification and formally implemented this requirement in 1992.

Every certificate issued by the Board since 1992 is valid for 10 years and expires on December 31 of the tenth year. In order to extend the validity of a certificate for a subsequent 10 years, a diplomate must complete the MOC process. 

Certificates issued prior to July 1, 1992 were awarded without an expiration date and before the inception of recertification. Although non time-limited certificate holders cannot be required to participate in MOC, ABO Directors encourage them to voluntarily enroll.

MOC and its Rising Value
Every component of MOC is developed by clinically active physicians who volunteer considerable time to the development of a fair and accurate tool to demonstrate evidence of new knowledge and measure improvement for the benefit of the public and the profession.

Hospitals, health care systems and other credentialing organizations use MOC as a physician quality indicator. Presently, MOC is accepted by the American Medical Association (AMA) for credit towards its Physician Recognition Award . A collaboration between the American Board of Medical Specialties and Blue Cross Blue Shield Association will lead to a public awareness campaign beginning in late 2010 focusing on the many ways MOC participation impacts the quality of patient care.

The Federation of State Medical Licensing Boards (FSMB) recently approved language that would allow MOC participation to serve as a proxy for state-based Maintenance of Licensure (MOL). The Health Care Reform Bill recently signed into federal law allows MOC to qualify for increased reimbursement within the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) beginning in 2011.

Most importantly, today’s patients understand the rapid rate at which medicine advances, and in addition to verifying their doctors are Board Certified, they are looking for participation in Maintenance of Certification to assure them that the physician they choose is current in new knowledge and skills.

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