Board of Medicine Moves to Require CME Credits in Pain Management and End of Life Care
We learned today that the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine is notifying physicians by email that effective Feb. 1, it will require continuing medical education (CME) credits on two specific clinical topics as a condition of licensure and re-licensure: pain management and end of life care.
It will require three hours of CME credits in pain management for physicians who prescribe controlled substances (Schedules I through VI). These credits qualify as either category 1 or category 2 CME, and may be counted as risk management credits. This requirement was established by the Legislature by statute in 2010.
The MMS recommends two courses to fulfill this requirement:
- Managing Risk When Prescribing Narcotic Painkillers for Patients
- Safe and Effective Opioid Prescribing for Chronic Pain
The Board will also require physicians to take two credits in education about end-of-life care, also effective Feb. 1. The credits qualify as either category 1 or category 2, and may be counted as risk management credits. This is a requirement imposed by the Board very recently, following the recommendations of an expert panel on end of life care that met in 2008.
The MMS online CME center offers three courses that would fulfill this requirement:
- Legal Advisor: Advance Directives
- The Unintended Consequences of DNR
- The Importance of Discussing End-of-Life Care with Patients
The state’s complete CME requirements for licensure and re-licensure are available on the MMS website.
Filed under: CME, End of Life Care, Palliative Care
When completing the recommended opioid prescribing modules, is there a mechanism for MMS to be notified automatically of completion? If not, how does one inform MMS of the requirement being met?
As with all CME courses that we sponsor or co-sponsor, our system automatically records when you successfully complete a course (e.g., pass an exam).
When you’re logged into the website, you can see a list of all the credits you earned through us: Click “My Account” at the top of the home page, then click “My CME” in the left column. You must be logged in to see the “My Account” link. This screen does not automatically record CME credits you have earned elsewhere.
Also, when you pass the exam for an online CME course, you get a certificate in your email which certifies the number of credits you have earned in that course.
I’m a pathologist and never see or treat patients directly. Since I don’t prescribe, I’m exempt from the pain management requirement. Do I still have to spend two hours on end of life care CME even though I have not provided any treatment to any patient at any stage of life in the last 35 years?