Association between physician time-unlimited vs time-limited internal medicine board certification and ambulatory patient care quality Journal Article

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Authors: Hayes, J.; Jackson, J. L.; McNutt, G. M.; Hertz, B. J.; Ryan, J. J.; Pawlikowski, S. A.
Article Title: Association between physician time-unlimited vs time-limited internal medicine board certification and ambulatory patient care quality
Abstract: IMPORTANCE: American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) initiatives encourage internists with time-unlimited certificates to recertify. However, there are limited data evaluating differences in performance between internists with time-limited or time-unlimited board certification. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there are differences in primary care quality between physicians holding time-limited or time-unlimited certification. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Retrospective analysis of performance data from 1 year (2012-2013) at 4 Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers. Participants were internists with time-limited (n = 71) or time-unlimited (n = 34) ABIM certification providing primary care to 68,213 patients. Median physician panel size was 610 patients (range, 19-1316), with no differences between groups (P = .90). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Ten primary care performance measures: colorectal screening rates; diabetes with glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c level) less than 9.0%; diabetes with blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg; diabetes with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level less than 100 mg/dL; hypertension with blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg; thiazide diuretics used in multidrug hypertensive regimen; atherosclerotic coronary artery disease and LDL-C level less than 100 mg/dL; post-myocardial infarction use of aspirin; post-myocardial infarction use of beta-blockers; congestive heart failure (CHF) with use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor. RESULTS: After adjustment for practice site, panel size, years since certification, and clustering by physician, there were no differences in outcomes for patients cared for by internists with time-limited or time-unlimited certification for any performance measure: colorectal screening (odds ratio [OR], 0.95 [95% CI, 0.89-1.01]); diabetes with HbA1c level less than 9.0% (OR, 0.96 [95% CI, 0.74-1.2]); blood pressure control (OR, 0.99 [95% CI, 0.69-1.4]); LDL-C level less than 100 mg/dL (OR, 1.1 [95% CI, 0.79-1.5]); hypertension with blood pressure less than 140/90 mm Hg (OR, 1.0 [95% CI, 0.92-1.2]); thiazide use (OR, 1.0 [95% CI, 0.8-1.3]); atherosclerotic coronary artery disease with LDL-C level less than 100 mg/dL (OR, 1.1 [95% CI, 0.75-1.7]); post-myocardial infarction use of aspirin (OR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.58-1.68]) or beta-blockers (OR, 1.0 [95% CI, 0.57-1.9]); CHF with use of ACE inhibitor (OR, 0.98 [95% CI, 0.61-1.6]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among internists providing primary care at 4 VA medical centers, there were no significant differences between those with time-limited ABIM certification and those with time-unlimited ABIM certification on 10 primary care performance measures. Additional research to examine the difference in patient outcomes among holders of time-limited and time-unlimited certificates in non-VA and nonacademic settings and the association with other ABIM goals may help clarify the potential benefit of Maintenance of Certification participation.
Journal Title: Jama
Volume: 312
Issue: 22
ISSN: 1538-3598; 0098-7484
Publisher: Unknown  
Journal Place: United States
Date Published: 2014
Start Page: 2358
End Page: 2363
Language: eng
DOI/URL:

10.1001/jama.2014.13992
Notes: JID: 7501160; CIN: JAMA. 2014 Dec 10;312(22):2340-2. PMID: 25490322; ppublish