Can anyone tell me if this is legal? I have to check the American Board of Emergency Medicine's website for info regarding MOC and the Concert Exam. In order to have access, I have to agree to this statement. This leaves me no choice, yet MOC is mandatory. It feels like blackmail. And would this be enforceable in a class action lawsuit?I would encourage all Emergency Physicians to join our fight against the American Board of Internal Medicine that has a similar adhesion contract embedded on its website behind its firewall, too. The RICO portion of the lawsuit addresses this collusion between the ABMS member boards to further their monopoly on physicians' initial board certification for their financial, political, and promotional purposes.
RELEASE OF ABEM
I agree to indemnify, and waive any right to sue, ABEM and its directors, examiners, committee members, officers, employees, and agents; to hold them harmless from any claims or damages including, but not limited to, attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in connection with my participation in activities to stay ABEM-certified, including but not limited to any action they, or any of them take or fail to take in connection with my participation in certification activities; my eligibility for examination; the gathering, furnishing and use of information about my training and practice; the grading or conduct of my tests or examination(s); and/or the failure of ABEM to issue me a certificate.
CONTROVERSY OR CLAIM RESOLUTION
I agree that if, despite the Release of ABEM in the paragraph above, I sue ABEM, I will bring that suit in Chicago, Illinois and that I will pay all of ABEM’s costs and attorneys’ fees in connection with such suit.
Contributions can be made here.
We'll see what the courts decide on the legality of this practice of coercing physicians using unavoidable adhesion contracts.
-Wes
11 comments:
Sounds like this is good argument for racketeering as if you don't take the tests, one's ability to work is limited. In a world with fair competition no intelligent person would sign this contract.
This is the evolution of “voluntary MOC” in 2019. ABEM, like the rest of the Cartel Boards, are a pathetic joke. There is no difference between the “terms” of this contract and one in which the physician faces a contract in one hand and a loaded gun in the other and told to sign.
Look for more evidence of wild panic like this by the ABMS Cartel Boards as the lights turn on for them that physicians have had enough and the #MOC gravy train is nearing the end of the track.
ABIM/ABMS are caught in their own hypocrisy trap.
1) They tell us to "Choose Wisely" but have made hundreds of awful decisions.
2) They exist by the grace of the Diplomates. They work for us. Their existence depends on us. Their business depends on us. We do not work for the ABIM. But they want to brainwash us and make us dependent on them.
3) They grandfather some for life and then have younger doctors pay more and more yearly for the same status.
4) The architect for MOC Christine Cassel is still "Not Participating" in MOC. But she is the dean of a California Medical School.
5) They tell us physicians self-governing is a privilege but are too inept to govern their own organization.
6) They tell us how they represent clinicians but their leadership is composed of bureaucratic, non clinical medical politicians.
7) They tell us how physicians should be rigidly controlled. No exceptions for illness or pregnancy or personal hardship or a busy practice. Yet they can't control who gets to shuttle to and fro in their $2.3M Condo in a Mercedes Limo.
8) They tell us how morals and ethics are the cornerstone of a physician's behavior. But they hire a known convicted felon as part of their paid staff to act as an enforcement agent.
9) They tell the Federal Government they are apolitical and "non profit"; too impoverished to pay their fair share of Federal, State, and Local taxes. Yet they illegally lobbied the Federal Government and are completely profitable with zero tax burden.
10) They tell us how physicians are enthused about ABMS ABIM MOC. But they ignore the Anti-MOC State statutes, the growing number of lawsuits, and the growing hatred of the ABMS and the ABIM.
11) They tell us how MOC costs the same as a latte (a la Dr Marine from Johns Hopkins) and the cost is negligible. But they can't describe the value of spending $30,000/decade on a goalless and wasteful and burdensome process.
12) They tell us about the deficit of trust in Medicine as they spend more Diplomate money in Aspen Colorado flying in Business Class and drinking fine wine and gorging on 4 course dinners.
13) They tell us they represent clinicians but do not allow participation for any community clinicians with no prior tie to the American Medical-Political machine.
14) They tell us about the importance of stewardship in Medicine and to embrace frugality in Medicine. But they exist by overcharging Diplomates more fees beyond any inflation index and by lounging in massively expensive Class A downtown Philadelphia real estate.
15) Rich Baron tells us he too is a physician. But he does not take any on call responsibility. He has no offices hours. He does not perform any procedures. He is not one of us. He does not belong in our tribe.
Vote as if your career depends on it. Because it does.
Vote to tell the ABIM we are all sick and tired of their games.
Vote to kick out Rich Baron.
Vote to make the ABIM work for the physicians it should be pandering and catering.
The ABIM is completely dependent on the Diplomate.
The Diplomates who take care of sick patients and take weekend call and do tough procedures and make tough bedside decision do not need the ABIM.
Please contribute as generously as you can.
https://www.gofundme.com/practicing-physicians-of-america
Lawsuits will let sunshine in. One fear for the ABMS/ABIM/ACP is that the DOJ might step in and make some examples out of the corrupt ABMS/ACP racketeering/monopoly practices by putting some key MOCster executives in 'San Quentin" or its equivalent. What I don't get is why a million BC/BE physicians are not demanding that some folks at the corrupt boards stand trial and possibly go to jail. The collusion is rampant and far reaching among tax dodging non-profits who are not paying there fair share. Instead they line their pockets. Even the ACP is implicated in a huge way. NCQA is a huge player and key one. Even current court records and a few key depositions would open the doors wide to let the light in. Who is protecting them and why? Why are a million voices and the hundreds of millions they serve not demanding justice.
The press needs to investigate and go international with this. If not the US press then some other. It is a global cartel that needs exposure.
"More important, IMO, is that the entire ABMS member board consortium fraudulently induced hospitals, insurers, etc to require MOC as quality/safety metric through lobbying/self-generated pseudoscience, business relationships, etc."
https://youtu.be/ajCzsIz24vk
https://www.ice-exchange.org/exhibit
https://certemy.com/vision
https://certemy.com/security-statement
What a money beast the "certification industrial complex" has become. How ironic that physicians are such utter slaves to this beast. The tragedy is that patients right to care has been harmed dramatically by MOC.
In fact, even recommendations made by the AHA in 2019 are confounded by the ABMS-mandated slavery to MOC. It should be obvious to all why? Theft of money and time/burnout are huge continuous problems created by MOC along with the overwhelming constant stress/anxiety.
AHA recommendations 2019 harmed by MOC burdens and other bureaucratic red tape
"Sustain the gains in health coverage
Protect patient access to care
Advance health system transformation
Enhance quality and patient safety
Promote regulatory relief
Strengthen the workforce"
The ABMS is in bed with private equity/tech industry/corporate America to make more money for themselves/more personal profits. But they should be reducing the quasi-regulatory burdens the ABMS has perpetrated and inflicted on physicians. The ABMS is making side deals with tech companies, associations, employers, insurers, large institutions, to further entrap physicians and strengthen their monopolistic stranglehold on the medical profession via the myth of externally enforced CME/continuous certification/testing. As opposed to the wisdom of lifelong certification.
Certemy is perhaps a good example of a startup company the ABMS and medical boards have been engaged with/investing time and money in as an conduit for generating more revenues. Linked with ABMS Solutions the data collection/and sale of that data involving their "physician workforce" is making the ABMS appear more and more as a corporate bully/bogus self benefiting union that pre-screens its physicians like an employment agency with the "continuous stream of data" gathered on their workforce flowing to or from the employers/licensing bodies/payers, etc.
It is too soon to see what their corporate game plan is, but it is not looking good as it is MOC gravy train above common sense, reason and consience. The ABMS should end MOC immediately.
One of the big problems I have with the ABMS medical boards is that they are simply not believable.
All their carefully worded corporate propaganda, political shenanigans, proprietary testing trickery, and expensive pseudo-science turns my stomach.
When is it going to end!
I agree nobody can trust the ABMS/ABIM. When the medical boards say "we are listening", of course it is nonsense. Clever doublespeak and outright lies fabricated for appearances. A PR strategy to buy time for themselves; precious time which they are quickly running out of.
Physician Rights and the ABIM's Dark History of Abuse
https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/2014.09.16_demand_letter.pdf
The ABIM only listens when they are confronted with litigation. History shows this.
ABIM has utilized contractors (hitmen and hitwomen) who have abused physicians and ABIM employees. The court records paint a dark history of the ABIM and the ABMS medical boards. it is there on Pacer.gov for anyone to read.
MOC is not the only abuse. Abuses of women rights, clear discrimination based on race, and the targeting of particularly vulnerable physician populations is well documented. Look it up and read it as time allows and get mad about the financial and political fraud perpetrated on physicians and the public for decades.
And the ABIM dares to run a propaganda campaign on "TRUST" after all their abuses and lies! There is evidence of ABIM employees and contractors lying not just to physicians and the public but to the courts as well.
The ABMS/ACGME along with the ACP has done a great deal to destroy trust over decades. What lies they have created along with the horrid myth that physicians cannot be trusted with their own CME!
After all the years of education and years of residencies/fellowships/state mandated CME the most highly educated and trusted professional body is treated so badly by the unethical and financially conflicted medical boards. That all has to change!
We have had it with the continuous deception, conflicts of interest, self-dealing finances involving the theft of time and money for over three decades.
It is more than fair to say we are not going to take it anymore. We all look forward to the end of coerced/mandated MOC with compensation paid out to the countless violated physicians. Money paid out for the abuses/damage done to the profession en-mass and every individual physician who has been forced to bend over in what is probably the most heinous educational scandal/Ponzi scheme in US history.
Reimbursement of hard earned money is overdue.
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