All Diplomates will be required to participate in the ABAM MOC program in order to maintain their Certification with ABAM. Diplomates with time-limited certification must renew their certificates through ABAM’s Maintenance of Certification program and must complete all Four Components of Maintenance of Certification. ABAM Diplomates with certification that is not time-limited are only required to participate in Component I of Maintenance of Certification on an Annual basis, Licensure and Professional Standing. All Diplomates, time-limited, and not time-limited, are strongly urged to participate since the program helps improve the quality of care delivered to patients.Maintenance of Certification for Addiction Medicine Physicians (MC-ADM) is the process that provides the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM) with the means to continually assess Diplomates. The American Board of Addiction Medicine, sensing growing and repeated threats from outside the medical field, determined that Diplomates should be required to meet the highest standards of accountability.
In response, the ABAM designed a process called Maintenance of Certification (MOC). This structure consists of four components, each designed to assess important physician characteristics: professionalism (Component I), self-assessment and lifelong learning (Component II), cognitive expertise (Component III), and performance in practice (Component IV). Although these elements are consistent with ABAM’s long-standing recertification program, ABAM MOC program stresses the importance of ongoing participation in activities that evaluate each of these components between examinations. ABAM MOC is a requirement that the ABAM believes encourages clinical excellence and benefits both physicians and their patients.
