- 24 July 2012 - ABIM announces Medicare payment incentives for participation in their MOC program on their website.
- August 14, 2012 - Robert Wachter, MD assumes chairmanship of the ABIM, writes missive on his industry-sponsored blog justifying why board certification "matters more than ever." This post shows anticipated collusion for acceptance of MOC as a "quality measure" between Medicare, the Joint Commission, the Federation of State Licensing Boards, and the ABIM Foundation's Choosing Wisely campaign. Wachter fails to mention his simultaneous affiliation as director of IPC The Hospitalist Company, Inc., a company that "is the nation's leading national physician group practice focused on the delivery of hospital medicine and related facility-based services" in that announcement.
- 27 Apr 2013 - Drs. Wachter and Cassel named to Modern Healthcare's "Most Influential Physician Executives."
- 1 Aug 2013 - Robert Wachter, MD receives 1,355 shares of IPC The Hospitalist Company stock options valued at $50.68 per share (Market Value: $68,671.40).
- 12 Jun 2013 - ABMS lobbies Chairman Upton and Ranking Member Waxman of the US House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee to have MOC program included in MACRA (the SGR Fix bill) as a physician quality measure.
- 30 June 2013 - Christine Cassel, MD to step down from ABIM as President and CEO of ABIM and ABIM Foundation. Earns $1.7 million as she leaves to begin work at the National Quality Forum.
- 1 July 2013 - Richard Baron, MD becomes ABIM and ABIM Foundation President and CEO
- 25 Sep 2013 - Christine Cassel, MD issued 3706 shares of Premier, Inc (PINC) stock
- 31 Dec 2013 - Physicians who participate in MOC program by Dec 2013 are able to claim 0.5% payment incentive from Medicare
- 1 Jan 2014 - ABIM offers either one-time (every 10-years) or annual payment plan option for its MOC program.
- 2 Jan 2014 - Robert Wachter, MD receives another 2,640 shares of ICP The Hospitalist Company stock options valued at $58.50 (Market value: $154,440)
- 10 Dec 2014 - Study appears in JAMA showing no effect of MOC program at improving patient outcomes.
- 16 Dec 2014 - The first detailed review of the MOC corruption appears on this blog with the publishing of "The ABIM Foundation, 'Choosing Wisely' and the $2.3 Million Condominium."
- 30 Jan 2015 - The ABIM is caught in the act if omitting 6 key financial schedules from its 2014 Consolidated Financial Statement that it released to the public.
- 31 Jan 2015 - A virtual tour of the ABIM Foundation's condominium is published.
- 3 Feb 2015 - ABIM issues previously unimaginable apology to the physician community stating "ABIM clearly got it wrong" but fails to mention the financial, tax filing, and financial conflicts of interest of its President and CEO and members of its board leadership.
- 3 Feb 2015 - Physicians (especially this one) are not impressed with ABIM's announcement that failed to acknowledge ABIM's history of serious financial and public reporting actions. Work continues to uncover what's being hidden.
- 16 Feb 2015 - ABIM initially fails to publish full financials for 2014 until pressured to do so. Apparent cover-up continues.
- 10 Mar 2015 - Veteran Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald publishes his first take on the MOC controversy with his article entitled "The Ugly Civil War in American Medicine."
- 11 Mar 2015 - ABIM Board Chairman David H. Johnson, MD issues statement attempting to discredit Eichenwald's article claiming "numerous and serious misstatements, selective omissions, inaccurate information and erroneous reporting." Johnson disputes claims that ABIM pass rates have fallen, that ABIM has a monompoly on re-certification, claimed that Eichenwald was "selective" about the data presented and has a "poor understanding" of the tax records, and that Eichenwald had failed to disclose his wife was an internist.
- 30 Mar 2015 - New board (NBPAS.org) formed and doctors are moving on after more of the financial transgressions come to light.
- 3 Apr 2015 - Dr. Robert Wachter, the former chairman of board at the ABIM, tops Modern Healthcare's Top Fifty Most Influential Physician Executives and is "not afraid to challenge the status quo." Not surprisingly, Dr. Christine Cassel again makes the list as well.
- 7 Apr 2015 - Kurt Eichenwald's next Newsweek article on the ABIM MOC program, "A Certified Medical Controversy," is published and begins to target many of ABIM Board Clair David H. Johnson's criticisms.
- 8 May 2015 - Consequences to physicians who fail their unproven MOC re-certification secure examination published online.
- 21 May 2015 - Kurt Eichenwald's third expose on the ABIM's finances called "Medical Mystery: Making Sense of ABIM's Financial Report" hits the pages of Newsweek disclosing the unreported lobbying efforts and the convoluted and large payments made to the ABIM leadership including $1,712,847 made to Christine Cassel, MD in fiscal year 2014.
- 22 May 2015 - Richard Baron, MD publishes another official ABIM response to Kurt Eichenwald's articles claiming "we have never made any effort to obfuscate, hide or delay ABIM's financial information." Baron did not acknowledge that they failed to release all of their audited financials (see 16 Feb 2015 entry on this timeline). Baron also fails to mention that the ABIM failed to release 12 years of audited financials requested by a reporter from the Wall Street Journal in August 2014. Additional attempts to obtain the reports from the PA Attorney General's office were also unsuccessful. Financial data were only obtained after a request was made to the office of the Pennsylvania governor's press secretary.
- 23 May 2015 - ABIM, it's finances, and the great revolving door collusion between the National Quality Forum, the ABIM, ABIM Foundation, and other specialty organizations published.
- 31 May 2015 - The ABIM's tax-filing cover-up of its lobbying activities with Congress exposed.
- 29 June 2015 - Robert Wachter, MD attempts to defend the actions of the ABIM on his blog after leaving his post as Chairman and speaks out. No corporate conflicts of interest are specifically mentioned by Dr. Wachter. Comments to his post are worth a read.
- 28 July 2015 - An independent cost analysis of the ABMS MOC program in published before print in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
- 15 Aug 2015 - ABIM Foundation tries to bury its old "About Us" webpage that claimed the creation date of the Foundation was in 1999 by editing the page to disclose the correct date of origin (1989) and then includes information regarding "$55 million" that was transferred from the ABIM to its Foundation from 1989 to 2007. The amount transferred was actually much larger and made secretly without disclosing the Foundation's existence to the physician community or public until 1999. The reasons for the secrecy and large annual payments made to the now defunct 1838 Investment Advisors (a spin-off of Drexel Burham Lampert financial fiasco - most of whom were indicted) made during that time have never been investigated or disclosed. One thing is now clear: it does NOT appear the sole reason for creation of the ABIM Foundation was to define and promote the term "medical professionalism" as originally claimed by the Foundation.
- 9 Sep 2015 - The ABIM's prior activities stumping for Big Tobacco in 1963 are revealed, lending less credibility to their claim that their certification program is for "public good."
- 15 Sep 2015 - Veteran Newsweek reporter Kurt Eichenwald publishes his last installment of a four-part series on the ABIM scandal entitled, "To the Barricades! The Doctors' Revolt Against ABIM is Succeeding!" highlighting how the ABIM MOC program has hurt physicians and patient care and what doctors are doing about it.
- 23 Sep 2015 - Graph of the growth in ABIM MOC Fees from 2000-2014 published showing at least 244% growth in cost (16.3%/year - far exceeding inflation) to internists over that 15-year time period.
- 25 Sep 2015 - ABIM's own Maintenance of Certification First-Time Pass Rates from 2000-2014 are published and document a negative pass rate trend line over that period of time in every subspecialty of internal medicine except Geriatric Medicine. The data trend stands in stark contrast to ABIM Board Chair David H. Johnson, MD's statement regardng MOC pass rates made 11 March 2015.
- 11 Nov 2015 - Concerning conflicts of interest with Christine Cassel, MD and the little-known company CECity, Inc. are published. Cassel's long-standing relationship with Premier, Inc. raises real questions regarding possible insider funding of CECity to prop up its value prior to its purchase by Premier, Inc. on 4 August 2015 for $400 million.
- 23 Nov 2015 - TeamHealth (TMH) acquires IPC The Hospitalist Company for $80.25 per share netting Dr. Wachter and his university, the University of California, San Francisco, a comfortable profit.
- 23 Nov 2015 - Graph of ABIM legal fees pre-ABMS MOC program (instituted in 2005) vs. post-MOC (ongoing) appears.
- 29 Nov 2015 - ABMS's income stream for selling daily updates of physician certification status from the unproven and un-vetted data gathered from its member boards via ABMSSolutions.org disclosed bringing the legitimacy of the entire ABMS MOC empire sharply into question.
- 6 December 2015 - A copy of the physician sanction letter issued June 8, 2010 surfaces on this blog and gives a glimpse into the strongman/boss tactics used by the ABIM to protect their certification monopoly. The tactics used to track down physicians late after they participated in a board review course years before are now coming under intense scrutiny.
- 16 Dec 2015 - ABIM announces its intent to extend its practice assessment decision through 2018.
- 17 Dec 2015 - Christine Cassel, MD leaves her role as the President and CEO of the National Quality Forum (in charge of setting "quality" standards for the nation's hospitals) to join the leadership team of Kaiser Permanente's School of Medicine. Dr. Cassel had long-standing financial dealings with Kaiser since at least 2003.
My prediction for 2016: the ABIM collapse under its own spending weight but not before "grants" are issued from the ABIM Foundation back to the ABIM to support its operations.
If the ABIM does collapse, what happens to the certification process for US internal medicine physicians? Clearly, significant change (including electable board members and disclosure of conflicts of interest publicly) are of paramount importance. Returning board certification to a lifetime designation also seems paramount since the MOC program continues to prove itself as highly destructive to our profession.
So stay tuned in 2016. It promises to be an interesting year as more revelations regarding the ABMS MOC program develop.
-Wes
Addendum: 28 Dec 2015 @13:04 - Post updated to include 27 Dec 2012 and the failure of Dr. Baron to report his conflicts as Director of the Seamless Care Model Group in the NEJM publication. Also, 28 July 2015 was added to include the cost analysis of the ABMS MOC program published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Addendum: 28 Dec 2015 @ 13:21 - 27 Dec 2015 deleted from timeline - Author of the NEJM piece was Robert Baron from the University of California, San Francisco, not Richard Baron, MD - hence why there was no disclosure of this conflict on the NEJM publication. I regret the error.
Addendum 30 Dec 2015 @ 10:45 - Timeline updated with additional information revealed on 23 Sep 2015 and 23 Nov 2015 regarding growth of costs and legal fees.
47 comments:
Wes
Thanks for this awesome service you are doing, It's a civic duty to our profession and our American health care system. Please keep shining the light on the corruption. The truth ALWAYS wins.
Wes
Great work Wes! Thank you again and again. I look forward to others picking up the torch as well (and their pitch forks, scythes, axes). I also hope the ABIM has have really stepped in it with this Puerto Rico lawsuit. Here's to an equally fruitful 2016!
Let me add my thanks to that of the above posters, Dr. Fisher, for your tireless efforts to bring these important issues to light. I must say I am particularly disappointed, although not especially surprised, at the revelations of the conflicts noted regarding Dr. Robert Wachter, former ABIM Chair and present elite professional medical politician.
Despite Dr. Wachter's protests published on his blog at http://community.the-hospitalist.org/2015/06/29/the-abim-controversy-where-the-critics-are-right-where-theyre-wrong-and-why-i-feel-the-need-to-speak-out regarding "unfair" allegations leveled at ABIM, ABIMF and Dr. Baron, in view of his shameless self-aggrandizement that you documented above plus his ringside seat for ABIM highlights like the condo purchase, it's clear that Dr. Wachter, much like Dr. Baron, is far too modest about his own contributions to the current insanity at ABIM. Primum Non Nocere, indeed.
Here's hoping the new year 2016 rings in with indictments for the ABIM principals, past and present. Maybe the judicial system will demonstrate more compassion and leniency for the ABIM gang than what was extended to Dr. Arora, Dr. Salas Rushford and the physicians targeted by the ABR witchhunt, but I'd recommend the ABIM principals be allowed to make amends by practicing prison medicine - from the inside.
Why are the feds not on this case. Look , they have gone after hosptials for less. This is a major fraud and extortion scheme. Where the heck is Preet Bharara?
Wes,
Thanks for your whack-a-mole efforts & wishing you and your family the best for 2016. As you continue volunteering tireless hours of time fighting the fraud/ extortion Beast & hope for lifetime certification & doctors rights, there is a Great Replacement & many have already been forced into retirement. By the time you retire, your work will have come to fruition to give doctors back some rights. But there is already a new experimental medical school being established that is hiring your nemesis. What standard will they follow? Possibly a lot lower than what you would consider professional, ethical or even humane. Then you will be stuck with that. So be careful about what you work towards in the 'profession'
Not to sound like a downer, but I have already seen gross human rights violations. The Federal Government isn't going after anything except their special interest agendas, so we have total lawlessness. Keep this in mind & hopefully you will not end up enabling more evil than what you were fighting in the first place. There are so much more egregious crimes and fraud than what ABIM is doing I can't even imagine justice getting around to them in either of our lifetimes, unless it's just an Act of God where people are surgically struck down with bolts of lightning.
We're probably on the brink of Civil War, likely won't meet you in person and you can't even get a gun in Chicago unless you're one of the people out on a violent rampage--I think you're not the type. Good luck with things twitterfriend,
Lisa
Yes , kudos for relentless efforts ! Will the honorable profession of medicine ever reclaim its position ?
Wes:
God bless you for all of your effort.
An insurance company owning a hospital and doctors is the pinnacle of conflicts of interest--shout out to Kaiser Permanente and Dr. Cassell. Then again, this is just a walk in the park for this cast of characters in the congo line of corruption.
I do have a request to add to the list of malfeasance by this cadre. These brainiacs claim to understand medicine with their effusion of guidelines emanating on high. They believe following these guidelines equates to a quality practice of medicine. What if their guidelines were WRONG? As an interventional cardiologist, I make decisions that are life or death in seconds. These 'physician-executives' have months to years to make decisions. Remember when these morons claimed that intervening on non-culprit lesions during AMI was a indicator of poor practice? It didn't take two years for evidenced based medicine to prove that their guideline was the exact opposite of what should be occurring. This is a travesty that has been swept under the rug.
How can they (ABIM) claim to possess any semblance of insight into the practice of medicine and judge my quality when they are churning out garbage guidelines? It is suspicious to anyone else that everything they come up with 'leans' towards doing less almost like it was written by the lobbyists for the insurance companies. Maybe, this is only obvious to me then again Dr. Cassell goes to work for an insurance company. Go figure.
PS Rahm Emmanuel needs to be fired ASAP for his poor leadership. Maybe, he can be promoted to DC and work with his brother.
This is nothing more than a confidence scheme, with these hucksters making millions off the efforts of hard working physicians. It's not enough to see them simply put out of business, these people should be prosecuted for their actions
Thank you for all your work on this, and, in particular, thank you for making clear how truly sleazy Wachter's role was in creating this ethical cesspool. His blog has been silent for the past 6 months - advice of his lawyers?
Great job. We all owe you our gratitude. Cassel stepping down from NQF and the Kaiser board only to emerge helping to start an insurance company (Kaiser) led med school is a development that deserves much more media attention. The conflicts of interest continue. I recently discovered slides from a presentation of hers posted here http://www.whpa.org/whpcr2010/presentations/Christine%20Cassel_WHPCR2010.pdf. The 2010 talk in Switzerland was entitled "Accountability and Transparency: The two pillars of the health professions in the 21st century". Apparently, she feels these principles don't apply to her. The slides are worth a look just to confirm that the plan for "professional transformation" of physicians has been in place for some time and has largely come to fruition. Hopefully we can put an end to their scheming.
Doctor Wes, God bless you for the time you take from your busy schedule to expose ABIM crooks. In the darkest day fighting ABIM, I always find light visiting your blog and gives me hope that I am not alone.
Those are good slides, thanks for posting that. This part says quite a lot:
Fundamental Principles
• Primacy of patient welfare
• Patient autonomy
• Social justice
The first one sounds reasonable, but also allows for really sticking it to the doctor
The second sort of sounds good, yet implies that your cardiac patient is completely free to eat bacon cheeseburgers with fries, every day: and it can STILL be the doctor's fault.
The third to be perfectly honest, usually is code-word for too many fuc%ing White men. This can only be corrected through forced retirements, total emasculation but to an SJW purist really BOTH must occur for actual 'social justice' to have taken place, also the death of your descendants is nice, but these things must be taken one step at a time to avoid people having sympathy towards you. The LAST thing they want to deal with is someone feeling sympathetic towards some cracker who needs killing. By calling it 'reverse discrimination' it just makes it sound like reversing something that was really, really bad--and no one can argue with that.
So anyway, prevention is the way to go because if someone needs an interventional cardiologist...whew! I would not want to go there. Valuable for those whose lives depend on them but nowadays it just seems like the best and safest healthcare is going to be stay AWAY from any kind of healthcare. It's like the global elite have planned healthcare to be a cash-cow and depopulation program. -L
You have exposed ugly side of ABIM and its foundation. I am not sure what good is left in these certifying bodies. For years they have extorted hard working innocent physicians without fear and shame. I am not sure why so many hospitals, physicians and insurance companies including medicare are still following their foot steps. There is clearly a large conspiracy and backdoor policy of making money from innocent physicians and many of us still do not know and are still following these corrupt people and organizations. This is a wake up call and I hope 2016 turns out to be wake up year for all of us. If we do not stand now then our children and future generation of physicians will never forgive us.
Shaikh.
By using a curve formula, the ABIM purposely fails candidates who will otherwise pass and qualify for Diplomate status. Their certification process has been bogus. Recently ABEM also started using the same formula thereby discarding the old rule of 75% correct answers. By this process they make good physicians retake the examinations more than once, so that they can make more money.
Excellent post, please keep us updated. I firmly believe that doctors are conditioned not to stir the pot, to keep calm, and generally are trusting, as a collective. You don't see us up in arms over nonsensical ebola, SARS, bird flu, swine viruses. You won't see us seeking any sort of publicity and for this reason alone, we might see ourselves on the short end of this fight against ABIM. We must expose these people quickly and swiftly. Anyone can see it is purely illegal to extort money from us and then pay handouts to insurance executives.
Thank you for this eye-opening information, Wes.
Please keep it coming.
Un-freaking-believable! My admiration to you for tirelessly ferreting out the facts on these leeches.
Are you (or anyone else on Sermo) aware of any similar efforts to scrutinize the other Boards in ABMS?
Dr. Wes
Thank you for your efforts! Is a class action lawsuit feasible? Certainly physicians would have standing, and there is a pile of money somewhere.
Of note there is a CFA document online chathamsullivan-9.doc 'The Principal Contradiction: A Study in the Psychology of Strategy" Elizabeth Blaylock is quoted there as a CFA consultant, (before going to the ABIM
& AMA and then back to home at CFA)!
The MOC is a scheme to lock in physicians into permanent payers. It was concocted by the ABIM to create a perpetual revenue stream. Yet, they miscalculated and triggered a rather serious rebuttal from several professional societies, including the ACC. It is time to dispense with the ABIM. We have solid and well-structured professional societies, a multitude of educational programs, and federal quality mandates that make the ABIM process unnecessary. It is also time to be honest, and realize that those of us who perpetuate the status quo are essentially paving the road to hell. I have recently told an older cardiologist, a former colleague, that his and his partners inability to practice not just medicine but the business of medicine is an example of how the older generation sold younger docs into a hospital slavery. The FCC has to bam aggressive solicitation of the private physicians by the hospitals, and put a restriction on the size of the integrative delivery networks. They artificially increase the cost of care without any proof of efficacy. The only way out of this includes speaking up, and taking charge. Wes, thanks so much for leading the way
Dr Wes, Dr Teirstein, and Kurt Eichenwald are my heros. Thanks for exposing the greed that is ABIM and their leadership!
Dear Regina Druz:
I, respectfully, disagree with your assertion that the ACC 'rebutted' the ABIM. On the contrary, the ACC elite leadership are in bed with the ABIM. The prior president of the ACC, John Gordon Harold, is on the ACC Board of Trustees and the ABIM board. This is a complete fiduciary violation. Witness the MOC review classes at ACC conferences; this is clear collision between the two entities. Where do you think the ABIM guidelines came from? It is difficult to tell where the ABIM ends and the ACC begins.
The ONLY reprieve for the ACC is the board of governors who fight with the crooked leadership when they are given the privilege of speaking. Despite years of protesting by the board of governors, little has changed in the ACC other than a cursory, bordering on apologetic, letter from one of the hand picked board of governor members who was easily manipulated.
National ACC is not a friend of the average cardiologist. National ACC is there to represent national ACC and the elite who ascend the echelon of administration pay at various organizations.
Fantastic job as always, Dr Wes! Keep shining the light of truth and hopefully someday we will get out of this miasma.
This will not get looked into until we have change in Washington. The Obama DOJ is in collusion with corruption throughout the government - just look at the IRS, never mind the ATF. It is the Chicago way. Corruption, lies, and more corruption.
There is a great movie out now (it is a foreign language film, but do not let that deter you) about how the German government and people after World War II acted as if nothing had happened. A generation of kids was raised with no knowledge of the holocaust and Nazi atrocities. It is called the Labyrinth of Lies. This is a fantastic film, and it deserves to be seen. It is also directly relevant to our government today and the lies which are destroying medicine.
The ACC has NOT been our friend in this, but I hope that we can change this. I confronted president-elect Rich Chazal about all of this and he says that it is "complicated". He claims that the ACC has looked at the ABIMs books and they are "clean".
He is either in denial about the problems or a liar. The books may look "clean" to trusting eyes, but may look entirely different to a forensic accountant.
We need an Attorney General who is willing to investigate this kind of regulatory capture and deep government corruption. I have no idea which of the candidates up for president can lead to this kind of change, but I can tell you who will not: Hillary, the Queen of Cover-up.
I don't know where this will go, but the more stuff like this gets covered up, the more good people will be driven out of medicine.
Thank you for allowing the space to rant. The more awareness of this issue we can get, the better.
sacredcowonaspit.com
Predictions:
If Killary is elected president, RVUs will drop for cardiology and other specialties. Bill Clinton, as directed by Killary, clobbered cardiothoracic surgery reimbursement in the 80s. Remember the old saying, what does a large pizza and a cardiothoracic surgeon have in common? Both can barely feed a family of four...
Expect dramatic reductions in RVUs as a payback to the insurance companies and hospitals that have given big bucks to the Clinton 'Charity'.
Excellent piece, Wes. I certainly hope we continue with this fight against these corrupt "leaders" and new year brings your predictions to fruition.
I share all the bloggers wishes for a better stronger new year.
What everyone expresses very clearly is that the ABMS is a vast syndicate with deep pockets and many connections. It is corrupt. It is all about the money. It is racketeering with protection. They protect themselves and they push their own supporters into key positions.
Strong organizational skills and sustained commitment of time and money from physicians and a unity of strong sustained efforts from volunteers and others, including the use of lobbyists and specialized attorneys will be needed to fight this cartel/mafia that pays out big for their own legal protections and special favors from OUR government representatives. The tables must be turned.
The AMA and ACP relationship is problematic also between the ABMS and specialty societies. These organization not longer support or speak for physicians. That is clear. This must be changed by placing honest and real physicians in key positions at every one of these organization. Leaders like the CEO of the ABMS are puppets and need to be sued for negligence and fraud. It is necessary to pick up the legal gavel and start pounding away until we get at the truth and justice is restored.
Money/cost cutting and a strangleholds on power is the name of the ABMS' corrupt certification game with insurers and the government.
The ABMS does not support patient rights and physician-critical roles in serving the patient. The ABMS serves itself and upside-down bureaucratic relationships which SHOULD have patient and physician on top. Any bureaucracy or bureaucrat should be subservient to that critical time-honored and valued relationship of patient and physician. Anything else is deceit, usury and abuse.
Instead of public/government/judicial support we have an uniformed/misinformed government and public.
The result of this disinformation is corruption with a few bad apples ruining the barrel. 'Bad' professional bureaucrats organize and pave the way for outlandish certification/testing maintenance scams. These schemes are held up by supportive regulatory capture with onerous policies and legal structures.
Corrupted/corrupting medical professionals like Nora, Baron, Langdon, Cassel and Wachter have buried the 'natural pathways' and 'right order' of medicine by charging tolls on a certification superhighway. This illegal stretch of asphalt reaches everywhere today just to rob and pay themselves egregious/outrageous compensation with deferred money hidden for years.
The ABMS use the money and unnatural structures to support themselves, their political platforms and a corporate-backed house of cards.
This artificial pseudo-governments with their monstrous edifices of steel and glass and corrupt supportive foundations like the ABIMF have been financed with deceitful, hypocritical and immoral bureaucratic practices created out of the illicit proceeds. Natural order and 'biologically healthy diversity' was destroyed in the process by these corrupt few--without mercy.
Their unnatural corrupted order needs to be reversed and moral individuals need to restored/reset what five decades of greed and wanton destruction of medicine has produced. The natural order of life was strangled by an evil pestilence that favors a corrupt monoculture. The artificial environment puts these bureaucratic pests on top.
In one month...it will be 1 year since...
"ABIM clearly got it wrong."
They just don't get it.
Hey Rich.... Since you got it wrong can you send me the money for the 2 tests you failed me on ??
Keep hiding Rich... you cant hide forever.
Oh ... and how is Lynn Langdon doing at her new job at ABMS ?
Please send her our best wishes.
Slimy scum. Just received my score report for internal medicine. Passed. I have no feelings about it other than a profound sense of regret over the time and money wasted. Especially the time away from my family and patients. I have graphically integrated the score report curve and it looks like the pass rate of this new improved test is now 89%. The slime saw they needed to change their tune or face the Guillotine. Do not be fooled - they are merely throwing the peasants a few crusts of bread. It's obvious they were failing far more doctors than they should have been. We didn't just suddenly all get smarter. Slimy scum.
The whole of the ABMS "quality assurance" scam is about greed and power.
For those attorneys and law enforcement officials who are following this blog and have an active interest in Lynn Langdon: it is doubtful that the risk management team(s) at the ABMS would allow a scum-thug like Lynn Langdon to be at the ABMS past her current term as an "unpaid" board member. It is doubtful she will be allowed to attend any more meetings at the ABMS in the future. She is too hot.
Risk managers handling the organization are not that stupid as to leave themselves that exposed.
Even the CEO's calls are monitored and censored for content and access at the ABMS.
To the DOJ and FBI elite investigators: gather your evidence quickly and indict these scam artists who hurt the public for a living.
When you move in don't forget to seize all the payroll records and take a look at the history of who is working there and how much they are getting. None of these elite thugs have been vetted so have fun with it. No telling what you will find.
The ABIM says Lynn is gone, but I'll bet Lynn Langdon is still getting her fat pay check from the ABIM-ABIMF "pork barrel slush funds." She is probably paid (with or without a contract) to assist in the continuing cover-up. And she is paid to keep her jowls shut.
Langdon is worth millions in accumulated earnings and investments stolen from physicians and the public interest of taxpayers who would be upset to know how much money pours out of their own thin pockets to support this and other massive bureaucracies.
It also appears from looking at the ABIM contacts for information and their current "officers" that the ABIM has also hired some people to speak for the communications officer/VP Lorie Lassen, presumably because she cannot speak for herself.
I guess the ABIM-ABIMF must keep all the executives safe by preventing them from saying anything. Lassen's salary is more than most CEO's make working for companies in the "private or public for-profit sector" with comparable revenues. That's a crime to taxpayers in my opinion.
Just more cash burned on keeping the precious lies and documentation about their highly irregular behavior in the safe. More money going to the executive/payroll part of the ABIM pie.
Anybody who still does not realize that all the ABMS member boards (not just the ABIM) are part of that big money-grubbing certification monopoly is a fool. Any physician who accepts restraint of trade as a way of life is a cheated physician--cheated out of far more than money.
Patients are being cheated medically and in terms of time with a physician. Taxpayers have been cheated by this profitable scam artist business courtesy of IRS laxness and staff restrictions. A government audit is long over due regarding the ABMS' clever non-profit ruse.
No, Mr. Dr. Baron and Ms. Dr. Nora you can't be barons forever; nor can you ignore facts of your egregious conflicts of interest and suspicious involvement in the ABMS' highly irregular behavior without getting caught.
Medical Jeopardy
Category: little known facts about the ABMS medical bureaucracy.
Answer: this former CEO/President of the ABIM and ABIMF, masquerading as a liberal democrat, served as healthcare policy advisor to two presidents and one current presidential hopeful.
For over three decades this professional medical bureaucrat furthered neo-conservative foreign policy agendas by supporting and instituting a scorched-earth domestic healthcare policy which stripped patients of their rights, increased health care premiums/copays while reducing benefits--all in the names of a "patient bill of rights", "professionalism" and "choosing wisely."
As a professor of medical ethics this non-practicing medical doctor for fifteen years as head of a quasi-regulatory certification corporation (ABIM), dean of a medical school (OHSU), and head of a physician membership society (ACP), helped solidify a testing monopoly for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), while continuously lobbying for healthcare reform under the guise of "affordable" and "universal coverage."
While feigning to serve in the interest of public safety (as head of the ABIM) a voluntary tax on US and international physicians called "MOC" paid for this political professional's lucrative compensation and severance packages.
Concurrently, without the knowledge of interested parties, this highly conflicted medical bureaucrat moonlighted in extraneous roles serving as Kaiser Foundation Hospitals and Premier, Inc. board chairperson(s).
To drive the spear through the center of the heart of medicine certified ABIM physicians were fooled into voluntarily subsidizing this corporate-backed bureaucrat's full-time healthcare reform efforts and secret scorched-earth foreign policy agendas.
? Put this cheaters name in the form of a question please!
Just in case anyone forgotten.....
Sarah Von Muller MD was railroaded by the Lynn LANGDON !!
We will never forget Lynn what you did.
Shame on you Lynn.
"ABIM reserves the right to revoke or suspend a diplomate's Board Certification summarily in extraordinary circumstances." *
*Above policy and all other ethical and professional policies and standards do not apply to former or present ABIM, executives, board members, council or staff.
Civil and criminal proceedings or actions are not applicable to any "ABMS society member" or their designated affiliates. Elite member policies were created by executive order concerning "ABMS society membership" and "elite diplomate immunity."
ABIM sample policy maze and legal morass:
http://www.abim.org/certification/policies/general-policies-requirements.aspx#sanctions-appeals
Two rules of law apply at the ABMS. One for YOU and one for THEM. Take your seat at the back of the bus next to the bathroom or stand up and fight. Or call this hotline to report past and present abuses and violations of civil liberties.
https://www.aclu.org/
Even better create a powerful physicians' union!
Thank you for your hard work in exposing this corrupt institution. I hope other boards will take notice too.
While we pay for testing, fight for fairness,grumble about less money and more work,suits are calling the shots., Mid-levels and administrators sitting back and reaping the benefits. I, for one, am pragmatic about what we have sown as perfectionists - trying to get to perfect and chastising the concept of continual learning. The hierarchy ( academics, ABIM ) set the standards for us working stiffs and getting rich doing it.
Ed Rico remarked above, "I must say I am particularly disappointed, although not especially surprised, at the revelations of the conflicts noted regarding Dr. Robert Wachter, former ABIM Chair and present elite professional medical politician."
Mr. Bob Wachter in his most recent blog does not reveal his own egregious conflicts, but instead protects ABIM's eroding high moral ground. He defends Mr. Baron from accusations of being nefarious and corrupt.
What a bombast, Bob! Nobody ever called Baron nefarious. Take a good look in the mirror, Dr. Wachter.
Your IPCM conflicts of interest and stock worth hundreds of thousands, your lucrative speaking engagements where you make $800k-1.5million a year and your punctilious speech all puts you in the highest candidacy to be labeled for life corrupt and nefarious in everyone's book.
You and those friends you advised at IPC--the key officers at the "hospitalist company" who were paying themselves over $8,000,000 a year "to innovate"--you all sicken me beyond measure!
Your ten years at the ABIM makes you one of the worst offenders!
In my mind you have fallen the farthest, Mr. Wachter. You are no longer in my mind a doctor just the worst kind of pseudo-politician. Shut that damn blog site of yours down! I don't ever want to hear one more lie from you.
I just read Baron's "year in review" and "new year's resolution" for the ABIM.
It is just more Chicago slaughterhouse news and putting makeup on the dead ABMS pig.
Let me be the first to call Rich Baron nefarious!
http://transforming.abim.org/change-you-made-possible-transforming-abim-year-in-review/
N is for the NEED that you and MOC must go!
E is for $$$ EVERY lie you and ABIM ever told!
F is for the FAILING grade and misery you consciously bestow!
A is for the AWFUL way you deceived us with MOC to steal our shrinking dough!
R is for the RATS you hired to solidify your monopoly and make your money grow!
I is for the INDIVIDUAL freedoms and civil liberties we as physicians used to know!
O is for the ONEROUS recertification scams ABMS continues to invent and sow!
U is for the UNFAIR lobbying for regulatory capture that insured MOC money to flow!
S is for the STANDARDIZED test that has always been funded suspiciously low!$
What's it all about, Wes? It's about da money! It's about doing favors and keeping the money with political and corporate power.
How much will Dr. Rich ABIM Baron Power make on his UCSF Grand Rounds road trip?
Btw, how much did Chris Cassel make on the side that we don't know about? Look how Kaiser Permanente is making up for her losses when she stepped down form their board in 2014.
In looking at how specialty societies are dealing with the blatant failures of the ABIM to keep up with its obligations to create and maintain viable relevant recertification criteria and materials, it is the strong opinion of many intelligent physicians that the medical specialty societies should stop tiptoeing around the ABIM's continued Chicago-style soft-shoe and do something.
This evasive dance involves hiding the ABIM's poor governance and the inability of the ABIM/ABMS to regain trust among its diplomates. There is a breach of personal trust in the leadership. There is even less faith in the new the requirements/demands for continuous cash streams. There is suspicion in the executive/board/council and the non-transparent structure. There is no real access/participation; physicians are completely shut out.
Specialty societies are questioning the ABIM/ABMS accounting irregularities. Physicians are questioning the strong-arm techniques utilized to maintain the ABIM/ABMS power structure--much of these methods and people are still unknown or hidden from outsiders. These security methods and people must be made transparent to physicians and addressed openly.
Outside investigations are crucial and guilty executive parties at the ABIM/ABMS must be punished for what they have done. The secretive lobbying and political activities are unacceptable. These activities have primarily supported the democratic national platform. This is not just problematic, it crosses the threshold of what is proper and legal for a non-profit organization such as the ABIM.
Much of the activities have clearly been politically motivated and have not been reflected at all in the tax filings. This is wrong. All involved in this should be held accountable. They have crossed the red line. Reparations must be made.
Physicians and authorities must take action and hold those ABIM/ABMS executives/directors involved responsible. To not take action is unconscionable. The current CEO, past CEO, and the past two board chairman of the ABIM should come forward and explain themselves. I am damn tired of watching executive elites pussyfooting around the most relevant subjects.
The ABIM has been used by professional medical bureaucrats to further political activities and healthcare reforms while executives and hired entities have strong-armed physicians into accepting quality measures which are fraudulent and coercive.
Trust will only be gained when certification organizations are led by volunteers--practicing physicians who have real integrity, not greed for money and lust for political power and partisan agendas.
Anyone who understands even a little of what has gone on at the ABIM and ABMS should be appalled and stop this wicked game. It is hurting patients and physicians; and it is hurting medicine.
It is not just distracting it is immoral.
I cannot keep quiet about what is quite clear to me and others. I am also deeply ashamed of Dr. Nora, Christine Cassel, Richard Baron, Bob Wachter and Clarence Braddock for not coming forward and truly addressing the real issues. Lip service is not enough! Academic words fail to impress or assuage the foul seeds that have been planted. Partisan politics, corporate favors and democratic control of the ABIM and other ABMS member boards has destroyed the validity, fairness and objectivity of all the boards at this point in time.
Spying and political violations and cheating worse than Watergate took place under Chris Cassel, Bob Wachter, Lynn Langdon, Eric Holmboe, Rich Baron and others.
Lies have been told and continue to be told. Cover-ups.
Words and clever promises will fail to change a thing. It is the same old political game. The most egregious ABMS officers responsible for creating this nightmare must be brought to justice. Honest physicians without the desire for money or power must come forward and restore the voluntary nature of the certification and the underlying structure of the organizations. The gravest offenders who have changed what was once good and decent cannot do it because they will never voluntarily come clean.
I'm sure it seems like a bad dream that will go on and on, but we can awaken and do something about this mess we find ourselves in. It is a critical struggle; much in our culture and society hinges on it.
ASN to the ABIM about MOC, etc, and Baron's editorial response letter.
http://www.asn-online.org/news/2015/KN_Dec2015_pp6-7.pdf
http://www.asn-online.org/news/2016/KN_Jan_2016_Letter_to_Editor.pdf
Regarding Dr. Baron's Letter to the Editor in the January 2016 ASN Kidney News: Since Dr. Baron now states that "ABIM has invited financial scrutiny", if he is not just spinning more ABIM hyperbole, I'd recommend that ABIM demonstrate their newfound commitment to transparency by allowing access to Mr. Charles P. Kroll to perform a thorough, independent third-party accounting review of ABIM/ABIMF's financial records.
IMO that will be a direct and reliable method of clearing up any remaining questions about where all of the fees went that have been collected from the diplomates. I'll be the first volunteer to contribute to the necessary funding to support Mr. Kroll's time and expenses to perform the review as soon as Dr. Baron gives the OK to proceed.
I agree with you, Ed Rico!
There are many of us that will contribute to an external audit by an independent third-party forensic accountant to work with/under Mr. Kroll who already has a thorough grasp of many of the irregularities, omissions, misstatements, shady investment practices and flummoxing methods utilized regarding all the tax and registration filings with the local, state and federal agencies.
We need an historical sweep of all documents and financial relationships. It is unclear if the ABIM has evaded local, state and federal tax obligations. When IRS determines whether a corporation is "for-profit" it is not only the tax filings, but the whole of the organization and their activities that they look to make a determination if they are to rescind a tax benefit such as ABIM's not-for-profit status.
By the way, ABIM's independent auditors recommended that copies of their tax filings should be retained "indefinitely." So the necessary documents should be there. If they have destroyed documents that may prove to be a problem for the organization. Certainly not a transparent gesture!
All that being said, I honestly believe only a serious and thorough investigation from several of our government agencies in a concerted criminal/legal thrust and seizure of documents will shed the complete light on the decades-long deceit and political corruption that is rampant at these ABMS members in Philadelphia and their counterparts in Chicago.
There will be resistance in Washington to do so and we understand the delicate political side-stepping that goes on.
Kurt Eichenwald should be allowed access to anything pertinent to his investigation as a reporter serving the public and our right to know. His efforts have been thwarted by smear campaigns against a top veteran reporter. That is how low this organization must go to protect its dirty secrets.
I would invoke the PA governor's office once more to have access to everything necessary for a thorough and transparent look at the books and historical documents. After all the ABIM and partners at the ABMS has unvetted conflicted executives, board members, and other conflicted and unvetted officers working for the current COO who have access to our information. I understand that the COO office under Lynn Langdon and her successor have abused their authority and power by seizing/utilizing physicians' information to persecute and control power and cash flow under the guise of the bogus copyright protection scam, which continues today.
Freedom of information should be applicable for us in this case. They have all of our data and encourage the government to get more and more. Plus there is proof that physicians' privacy/rights have been violated and abused as mentioned here by the ABIM/ABMS. That criminal activity of the ABMS as police/surveillance state needs to have light shed on it as well, not just the financial schemes.
In case you did not know the ABMS shares their unvetted security thugs between themselves. It truly is a syndicate and they are robbing physicians and the public!
Some may rob you with guns, but these sorts at the ABMS will rob you with a pledge and digital pen--and by cheating taxpayers and the IRS.
They came round collecting, not once as they did during the great depression, not every ten years as they decided during the great recession, but now in the days of zero percent interest, they'll collect every year for the rest of your active working life.
Don't leave any debts behind with them; they will go after your kids, your husband or your wife.
And don't share anything about their testing gems online, they are watching; but above all don't act irregularly when your recertify, you might just end up homeless or in prison.
And don't ever try to rob them back or get even; you'll end up dead like "Pretty Boy Floyd."
A Matter of Transparent Policy at the ABIM
ABIM website: Where Does the Money Go? It goes into the executive's pie in the sky fund.
http://www.abim.org/about/revenue-expenses.aspx
How about stating the question correctly. ABIM should address and state:
Where did the physicians' money go? It went to the ABIM Foundation to evade scrutiny.
Wes, here's a web site that got it right on how they list the ABIM Foundation. It is as transparent as it gets.
ABIM Foundation "Philadelphia Investment Offices"
According to this online site just from gathering public data (Like Zoom Info) they pieced together the impression that the ABIMF are "Investment Offices!" As in "1838 Investment Advisors" maybe?
http://listings.findthecompany.com/l/19186319/Abim-Foundation-in-Philadelphia-PA
Therefore, are we to assume the money went to pay the executives' hefty commissions like ABIMF CEO Cassel, CFO Strozeski, Policy Advisor Ann Grenier and others? You can draw your own conclusions.
CEO Christine Cassel walked away with $1.7 million plus her millions in annual compensation. CKC went on to head the NQF--compensation unknown.
http://www.qualityforum.org/About_NQF/Leadership_Team/Christine_K__Cassel.aspx
Policy advisor Ann Grenier like Rich Baron followed the "revolving door"/"Alice through the looking glass" practice of melting into the NQF crowd and highly compensated payroll ranks.
https://www.qualityforum.org/About_NQF/Leadership_Team/Ann_Greiner.aspx
Hank Strozeski retired with his "in care of" ABIM Foundation money? The DOJ should perhaps interview that guy!
http://www.medtees.com/content/ABIMFForm1023Rename.pdf
Speaking of Chris Cassel and Ann Grenier, I'm sure we have not forgotten NQF and the Charles Denham CareFusion scandal. Cassel also came under fire for her egregious conflicts of interest at the same time as the following article. Cassel and Grenier. What a team!
http://www.massdevice.com/national-quality-forum-changed-policy-ahead-kickbacks-flap/
Former ABIM/ABIMF's policy queen, Ann Grenier, who later became a "cover-girl" for the NQF seems to state that they were very aware of Charles Denham. Grenier sounds more like a child caught than anything else. They never stopped anything, that is the true measure of quality, not inventing more "NQF SPEAK."
I remember Cassel saying to the press, when the Denham/NQF affair broke loose, "We will cooperate with the Department of Justice." If you don't know the whole scandal was mostly about influence pedaling and big payouts and kickbacks for product endorsement/recommendations-products were endorsed by the NQF that would kill or burn hospital patients or staff.
Chuck Denham had quite a scam going with the negligent/complicit executive staff/board at the NQF.
In case you ever wonder why we have the revolving doors like Cassel and Greneir's career changes, its just like ABIM's Eric Holmboe, the "dirty tricks guy" in the Arora board review/physicians' privacy theft scandal--that's what it was an ABIM scandal--Holmboe just moved his hot little "arse" over to the ACGME. Holmboe was sued by the way along with Cassel. They walked away with a lot of physicians' money for hurting physicians and as you can see they don't give a damn about patients, physicians or residents!
I hope more and more of your readers get/understand what you are saying, Wes! These damn phonies in the "quality assurance" racket are not "sugar and spice." They are "political slime bags" who heap policies on helpless people. Many of them claim to be, like Rich Baron, interested in vulnerable and underserved populations. Baron was an insider at the NQF in case anybody did not know.
Attorney General E. Holder, Director of the HHS K. Sibelius, along with a CareFusion whistle blower C. Kirk were instrumental in bringing forth the criminal investigation and charges.
"The settlement resolves allegations that, under agreements entered into in 2008 by CareFusion’s predecessor, CareFusion paid $11.6 million in kickbacks to Dr. Charles Denham while Denham served as the co-chair of the Safe Practices Committee at the National Quality Forum, a non-profit organization that reviews, endorses and recommends standardized health care performance measures and practices. The government contends that the purpose of those payments was to induce Denham to recommend, promote and arrange for the purchase of ChloraPrep by health care providers. ChloraPrep has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the preparation of a patient’s skin prior to surgery or injection.
This settlement also resolves allegations that, during the period between September 2009 and August 2011, CareFusion knowingly promoted the sale of ChloraPrep for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, some of which were not medically accepted indications, and made unsubstantiated representations about the appropriate uses of ChloraPrep."
NQF Safe Practices Transcript Aug. 19, 2009. Denham was co-chair whose only disclosures of conflicts come on page 46.
http://www.propublica.org/documents/item/1006269-attachment-f-safe-practices-transcript
Richard Baron and the NQF.
ABIM press release states Rich Baron was an NQF director from 2009-2011.
http://www.abim.org/news/christine-cassel-science-technology-advisory-council.aspx
Why does my sixth sense tell me that this investigation needs to be re-opened. They may have just scratched the surface if what Bob Wachter tells us is correct.
"Cassel is not mincing words when she describes Denham: “He clearly lied,” she told Marshall Allen of ProPublica. “He just didn’t say anything about any of his business relationships.” According to the NQF, Denham was asked on several occasions about potential conflicts and never mentioned the multi-million dollar CareFusion contract."
Shortly after this blog was written by Bob Wachter Christine Cassel was hauled out on the carpet for not disclosing her egregious conflicts of interest. She clearly lied to us by concealing them, just like Denham. What else did she lie about?
As for Bob Wachter, the apologist for Baron, Cassel, et al, clearly Wachter believes he is entitled to his own conflicts of interests worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That is perhaps a psychological presentation far beyond lying. It is a totally different kind of psychological myopia concerning the lack of that spidey-sense where it is most needed. Right under one's nose.
Is it a lying lawless world as Lisa indicates?
Rule of thumb for the "quality forum." Unless you get caught you don't say nothin'.
But if one of your colleagues gets caught, it's an "extraordinary event." The "first time" in the history of patient safety!
So, you pull out your well-seasoned index finger and point it as far away from yourself as you can. But first you make your points and try to make them stick...
"Yes, I knew "Sam" for 10 years, but I guess I did not truly know "Sam the Scam Man." Nobody knew him. Nobody ever really does. We all just kept scratching our heads. He was a nice guy and he got results. I saw no reason not to work with him."
Or. "This exceptional person must have been paid to infiltrate the ranks of our quality/safety clubs."
Let's explore a few of the "head-scratching implications" and questions that arise in my brain. A little history first...
"National Quality Forum
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Quality_Forum
National Quality Forum (NQF) is a United States-based non-profit membership organization that promotes patient protections and healthcare quality through measurement and public reporting.[1][2] It was established in 1999 based on recommendations by the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.[3] NQF’s membership comprises over 400 organizations, representing consumers, health plans, medical professionals, employers, government and other public health agencies, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, and other quality improvement organizations. NQF has helped develop guidelines on palliative care.[4]
Some researchers have discussed difficulties in following NQF proposals.[5]"
NQF's past CEOs Christine Cassel and Janet Corrigan founded the organization under the Clinton administration during Bill [and Hillary's] last years in the oval office. Hillary Clinton was an active exponent involved in the democratic party's movement of the DNC's according to the Clinton's idea of health care reform. Cassel and Corrigan served on the President's Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Health Care Industry.
Their health care reform failed, but the NQF and the ABIM along with a few dozen other NGO's seemed to become natural pawns in a political game of healthcare reform. Gaining control of physicians and patients was/is part of this multi-decade scheme. The activities of the usual suspects and players of these revolving door NGO's indicate that Cassel and company have been waging an ideological/financial war against physicians and patients for a long time. All behind the scenes utilizing non-profit NGOs.
Most of these organizations like the ABIM/ABMS have strict rulings/articles not to engage politically or to operate as trade monopolies. The ABIM and ABIMF had been secretly stashing away huge profits that destroyed/hurt the integrity of the organizations as Wes, Kurt Eichenwald and others has exposed. We see this scenario of greed for money and coercing/pushing of political agendas clearly at the ABIM and ABIMF.
http://archive.ahrq.gov/hcqual/cborr/ack.html
The Report acknowledgements from the Clinton/Cassel/Corrigan, etc, Bill of Rights:
"The development of the Consumer Bill of Rights and Responsibilities required the involvement and contributions of many individuals and organizations, and the Commission wishes to extend its appreciation to all of them.
Much of the initial work on this report was done by the Commission's Subcommittee on Consumer Rights, Protections, and Responsibilities under the leadership of Chair Peter Thomas and members Christine Cassel, James Chao, Nan Hunter, Sylvia Drew Ivie, Randy MacDonald, Ronald Pollack, and Stephen Wiggins.
The Commission wishes to pay special tribute to Executive Director Janet Corrigan for her superb leadership and staff direction..."
http://archive.ahrq.gov/hcqual/
The following interview between AHRQ's Robert Wachter and NQF past CEO Janet Corrigan is interesting and enlightening.
Robert Wachter, editor Perspectives on Safety for the AHRQ, interviewing Janet Corrigan, NQF CEO, April 2010.
https://psnet.ahrq.gov/perspectives/perspective/85/in-conversation-with-janet-corrigan-phd-mba
ABIM's Christine Cassel helped establish the NQF in 1999 while she was an advisor to Bill and Hillary Clinton. Janet Corrigan, who was also instrumental in establishing the "quality forum", stepped down as NQF CEO to make way for Christine Cassel's accession to the top position in June of 2013. I find all this highly suspicious and Cassel's conflicts of interest with Premier, Inc., and the Kaiser Foundation have never really been properly addressed. Charles Denham's alleged criminal activity and severe conflicts has bee brushed under the table as well. Why?
What else is curious are the dates of origination of the NQF and the ABIMF. 1999. The ABIM Foundation was established in 1999 with the only signature on the registration and articles of incorporation being (you guessed it) Christine Cassel, who was the Chairperson of the ABIM Foundation at the time.
Controversy still clouds the purpose and legal status of the ABIM Foundation and its initial [secret] registration in 1989 with the only signature on the document being that of the CFO, Henry Strozeski. All ABIMF correspondence/documents were initially set up in 1989 with he instructions "in care of" Henry Strozeski at the ABIM addresses.
I find these two registrations--Strozeski in 1989 and Christine Cassel as signatory in 1999--more than curious in light of the heavy securities trading that took place under Stozeski's watch with the now defunct 1838 Investment Advisors. But the emergence of the NQF at the same time (1999) time makes me scratch my head and say to myself over and over there is something not right here.
Chris Cassel's active ABIM Foundation position(s) during this time is revealing and troubling in light of her close relationship and advisory position with the white house under Bill and Hillary Clinton in the 1990's. All these politically charged and financially potent facts in our ABIM/ABMS timeline are ripe for serious discussion and a thorough investigation.
So many of the behind the scenes/blatantly controversial actions originating from these elite medical politicians under our inspection forms a contiguous stream of activity with a coherent political and financial story of inappropriate/corrupt influence pedaling involving our "patient safety nets". The political and financial usury/abuse of our not-for-profit "non-governmental regulatory organizations" like the ABIM and NQF and affiliates cannot be ignored or brushed under the table any longer.
Thank you enlightening me !! I have not done my recertification !! Because of this was I am now working with my hospital to continue with my privilege . I may be forced to take this test that abim task force recommend to be replaced because of the insurance . My privilege will be revoked if I do not maintain my certification hence lost of job. I will be working hard with my hospital for them to accept NBPAS as alternative Board. I do not support the ABIM because of the corruption . MOC is either force me to do the test or find a job that accepts NBPAS or maybe find a new career !
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