Certification Matters FAQs

Patients say Board Certified Medical Directors are key to trusted expert care.

Board Certified Medical Directors meet nationally recognized standards to demonstrate expertise in their oversight of medical services.

After graduating from medical school, doctors who want to become medical directors must complete an internship, residency and some additional medical education, and then pass a general exam to become a board certified medical director and maintain a medical license by the state where they intend to oversee the practice of medicine.

Many doctors, however, choose to become Board Certified Medical Directors. This requires further, extensive, medical director specific training and passing an exam that includes questions specific to their directorship of medical practice.

Board Certified Medical Directors are:

• Skilled and knowledgeable
• Experts in their specialty
• Meeting a higher standard

Patients say Board Certified Medical Directors helps ensure excellent patient care.

There are differences in the care provided by Board Certified Medical Directors and those who are not Board Certified. When looking at care quality and health outcomes, there is a measurable difference in the care provided by Board Certified Medical Directors.

Board Certification enhances patient safety in doctors’ offices, clinics and hospitals. And on average, doctors with an ongoing commitment to Board Certification deliver care at a lower cost.

After graduating from medical school, doctors who want to treat patients must complete an internship, residency, and  medical director training, and then pass a general exam. Additionally they must be licensed by the state where they intend to medically direct the practice of medicine. Many doctors choose to become a Board Certified Medical Director. This requires further, extensive specialty-specific training and passing an exam that includes questions specific to their medical specialty.

ABMD support doctors’ transition from training to practice through ABMD Maintenance of Certification (MOC). The MOC program provides doctors a mechanism to maintain their certification through their engagement in continuous, specialty-specific learning, assessment, and improvement activities. The activities in MOC are aligned with the principles of the ABMD standards to address the changing knowledge/performance expectations and the various settings, patients, and challenges that doctors encounter in practice.

Participating in Maintenance of Certification (MOC) means a doctor continues to meet the requirements of his or her medical specialty Board(s) for ongoing learning and assessment. A doctor participating in MOC shows a commitment to lifelong learning and ongoing self-evaluation, and is engaged in measuring and improving his or her practice.

What does it mean if my doctor is listed as participating in MOC?

The MOC program promotes lifelong learning and improvement activities, the opportunity for self-assessment and helps demonstrate that doctors Board Certified by an ABMD continually refresh and expand their knowledge. By participating in MOC, this doctor is demonstrating his or her commitment to a lifelong learning process and is engaged in measuring and improving his or her practice.

What does it mean if my doctor is listed as not participating in MOC?

By being Board Certified, the doctor has gone above and beyond licensing requirements. All doctors in the United States must be licensed in order to practice medicine, but they are not required to be Board Certified.

There are a variety of reasons why a doctor may be listed as not participating in MOC. He or she may have chosen not to participate in the MOC program of his or her Member Board(s). Or, he or she may be participating in MOC, but is not meeting the requirements to maintain his or her certificate(s).

What does it mean if my doctor is listed as not required to participate in MOC?

It means that the doctor became Board Certified  before his or her certifying Board established its MOC program. According to the policy of that doctor’s certifying Board, he or she is therefore not required to participate in its MOC program.

Patients see Board Certification as a higher standard.

Doctors are required to have a state medical license to practice medicine; Board Certification is a higher standard that doctors must choose to attain and maintain. Board Certified doctors demonstrate their desire to practice at the top of their profession and deliver high-quality care to their patients.

Board Certified doctors are:

• Skilled and knowledgeable
• Experts in their specialty
• Meeting a higher standard

Doctors with an ongoing commitment to Board Certification:

• Participate in assessment and training beyond what is required of their peers
• Work to continually improve the care they deliver

The American Board of Medical Directorship^® (ABMD^®) has been committed to providing patients with the highest quality health care by assisting in developing and implementing uncompromising professional standards for medical directors. Patients can trust Board Certified Medical Directors to ensure any medical facility will provide excellent care. That’s because medical directors who are Board Certified by the ABMD  voluntarily take part in a rigorous process that continually assesses and enhances their medical knowledge, judgment, professionalism, clinical techniques and communication skills.

Patients want to be confident that medical facilities are qualified to provide expert care.

ABMD trained medical directors adhere to rigorous training and assessment standards and are recognized as the gold standard in medical specialty certification.

ABMD does not have doctors on staff to answer medical questions. We recommend you consult your doctor or surgeon.