Wisconsin Medical Society earns top CME accreditation status
Contact: Lisa Hildebrand, 608.442.3765 , lisa.hildebrand@wismed.org
Madison, Wis. – The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) has awarded Accreditation with Commendation status to the Wisconsin Medical Society as a CME provider for physicians. The Accreditation with Commendation status places the Society in the top tier of all CME providers, including some of the nation’s most prestigious medical schools. A CME provider since 1976, the Society received a six-year accreditation, the maximum awarded from ACCME.
ACCME-accredited providers certify educational activities for the American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award (AMA PRA) Credit System and award AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM, which state licensing boards and boards of medical specialties use to re-license physicians and re-certify them in their areas of specialty. Only 21 percent of ACCME-accredited providers have achieved Accreditation with Commendation status.
“This recognition is a testament to the Wisconsin Medical Society’s commitment to physicians, the medical profession and patients throughout the state,” said Society President Tosha Wetterneck, MD, MS, FACP. “High quality education is one of the critical ways the Society supports physicians and their teams and thereby improves the quality of patient care.”
To earn the Accreditation with Commendation status, the Society demonstrated compliance in all 22 Criteria and Accreditation Policies. The ACCME employs a rigorous, multi-level process for evaluating CME programs according to the high standards adopted by all seven ACCME member organizations: the American Board of Medical Specialties, American Hospital Association, AMA, Association for Hospital Medical Education, Association of American Medical Colleges, Council of Medical Specialty Societies and Federation of State Medical Boards.
“The ACCME congratulates you and commends your organization for not only meeting the ACCME’s accreditation requirements, but for demonstrating that yours is a learning organization and a change agent for the physicians you serve,” ACCME Chief Executive Murray Kopelow, MD, said in a letter to the Society. “You have demonstrated an engagement with your environment in support of physician learning and change that is part of a system for quality improvement.”
The Wisconsin Medical Society’s Council on Medical Education oversees the Society’s CME accreditation and recognition efforts, and Cheri L. Olson, MD, of La Crosse serves as Council chair. Paul D. Burstein, MD, FACOG, of Mequon was Council chair during the re-accreditation process.
With nearly 12,500 members dedicated to the best interests of their patients, the Society is the largest association of medical doctors in the state and has been a trusted source for health policy leadership since 1841. For details, visit www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org.
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago that is responsible for accrediting U.S. institutions that offer continuing medical education through a voluntary, self-regulatory system. The ACCME also recognizes state medical societies as accreditors of intrastate CME providers, including community hospitals, state specialty societies and county medical societies.
