Instead, they are doubling down.
One only has to look at the list of sponsors at this week's 2019 ABMS Conference here in Chicago to understand why.
Their "Premium Sponsor?" Certemy.com - a VC-funded startup from San Francisco infused with a cool $3 million investment run by a venture capitalist and Kaiser Permanente urologist eager to capitalize on the lucrative credentialing business. Or how about this ironically-named company in the ABMS co-branding line-up: MOCingbird that reminds you when all your lifelong credentialing paperwork and payments must be completed?
The data-selling opportunities are endless!
Might the for-profit ABMS-subsidiary ABMS Solutions, LLC provide Certemy.com, MOCingbird, and a whole host of other business middlemen the personal information, NPI numbers, addresses, cell-phone numbers, emails, MOC expiration dates, and test scores of physician, parsed psychometrically-designed test questions to insurers, hospitals, and anyone else who wants to hold physicians hostage for their financial purposes?
When you control a monopoly, anything's possible - especially when physicians are forced to "sign" an adhesion contract while paying for and enrolling in MOC as a condition of remaining employed.
From ABMS's own website, a dark, physician data deep-state has evolved:
The world of the ABMS "continuous certification" monopoly is not only Orwellian, it's just plain creepy. Is this monopoly about lifelong physician continuing education or lifelong physician manipulation?
- An exhibit hall representing innovators in areas of assessment, test development and administration, data collection and measurement, and more.
- Organizations can use data to better monitor and guide physicians’ work, trigger point-of-care decision making, and assess the impact of physicians’ improvement activities. In this session, the presenters will share how they identify the correct data and the appropriate source(s) of data and will discuss how data can be used to improve clinical decision making.
- Discuss how data can be used at the point of care to improve clinical decision making
- Psychometric analysis to create legally defensible exams
Given this ABMS corporate line-up and their self-serving focus demonstrated so clearly by their "conference," the intent of ABMS "continuous certification" is obvious.
It's time to put an end to this computerized madness masquerading as "physician improvement" because this MOC game that ABMS has doubled down on is getting utterly ridiculous.
-Wes
The ABMS has replaced the joy of learning with a stick and a whip.
ReplyDeleteThey still don't get it and probably never will without a dramatic change of leadership.
ReplyDeleteNone of the self-appointed ABMS executives or board officers expresses any sensitivity for how MOC harms a physician's right to work and a patient's right to care. With all the highly paid communications officers in their employ why is that?
ReplyDeleteThe ABMS 2019 "Conference" is literally a parade of revenue generating innovations for the perpetuity of MOC and all the harm it does. The Chicago "ABMS umbrella's" push to create an Orwellian-like deep state reminds us how important the lawsuits are for the future well-being of medicine, but especially for the rights of patients and the rights of physicians who care for them.
ReplyDeleteThe MOC money frenzy has created a state of madness. The highly conflicted ABMS and 24 boards have gone crazy over money. Lost their way floundering in their own executive largess.
We need to double down on funding the lawsuits and strengthening the congressional and state measures that ensure that MOC does no more harm to the profession and patients. We need to restore our rights to employment, compensation from payers, and to care for patients without the dictates of an increasingly powerful group of egregiously conflicted trade associations. These are rights that the MOC monopolists through deceit and collusion have taken away.
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.” —George Orwell
ReplyDeleteThe "Brave New World" the ABMS and their "stakeholders"* are creating for physicians and patients is based on profound lies. The ABMS propagandists are erasing history and at the same time revising it. This is profoundly wrong and goes against the grains of decency in all of us and contradicts principles of what we know about truth.
MOC is a lie and this lie represents a profound revision of history. Lifelong certification goes along with lifelong learning. The latter is inherent in the former. lifelong learning for a physician is like the air we breathe. We cannot be forced to breathe. We work and study in one breath. Forcing MOC on us destroys us.
MOC® is redundant and forced, just as pumping air into the lungs that are already full would be redundant and could cause grave harm. MOC is an invention of the ABMS revisionists. It is illegally tied to certification. It was clearly created for the enhancement of ABMS cash flow - a tack-on payment for the 24 member boards' dwindling revenues. A cash bonus for executive largess.
"Doctors cannot be trusted with their own CME" is another ABMS lie and revision of history.
For the first time in history doctors cannot be trusted with their own educational needs. CME is required by the states and readily available from many trusted sources. This is another invented lie of the ABMS revisionists. It was a conscious manipulation of facts to serve their bottom line and enhance the profits of their stakeholders.
Now they even collude with societies and other sources of CME offering them "favors and bribes" of various kinds, and even utilize intimidation techniques to keep the MOC money frenzy alive. We have to be honest and say that conflicts of interest are rampant at the ABMS and their affiliates. Just like a fish in water. Lucrative jobs and board seats have been offered up as payment for services rendered in the quality assurance cartel. This kind of conflicted activity is also and attempt to keep the MOC gravy train flowing.
When will the lying end? When will the conflicts of interests and profiteering end? From where will the wisdom and leadership come to turn the ship of lies around! When will the harm MOC does to physicians and patients end?
None of us have long to live in this world and how we live with one another is important.
Perhaps the grandfathered physicians can give the younger docs a lesson in history. Maybe they can explain to the younger docs why they should accept maintenance of certification and the grandfathered docs should not -- even though facts and common sense tell us MOC doesn't make a better doc.
But there is clear evidence and almost everyone knows that MOC contributes to physician burnout. And if you've got student loans and umpteen other things to pay it can help make a doc broke.
History and where we are today tells us MOC should have ended over 30 years ago. The face of medicine would be a lot brighter and patients much happier.
Footnote "stakeholders":
*Sorry, physicians and patients are not "stakeholders" in the ABMS' revisionist history. Just objects of intimidation, things that must be put in line or moved out of the way.
ABMS MOC® is diabolical, illegally tied to certification.
ReplyDeleteABMS executives feign they are listening, but it's obvious they are not. Most of their self-appointed "leadership" and "thought leaders" are focused on their own moneyed interests and the controlling interests of their corporate partners.
ReplyDeleteNone of the ABMS medical specialty boards, or its closed oversight umbrella, are listening to the profession or the public who are both sorely hurting. It is evident they became deaf to their better angels ages ago.