Friday, March 13, 2015

The Ugly Civil War in American Medicine

The battle over "Maintenance of Certification" (MOC) has finally hit the mainstream press in this informative Newsweek piece, "The Ugly Civil War in American Medicine".

Here is the opening to the article:
Are physicians in the United States getting dumber? That is what one of the most powerful medical boards is suggesting, according to its critics. And, depending on the answer, tens of millions of dollars funneled annually to this non-profit organization are at stake.

The provocative question is a rhetorical weapon in a bizarre war, one that could transform medicine for years. On one side is the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), which certifies that doctors have met nationally recognized standards, and has been advocating for more testing of physicians. On the other side are tens of thousands of internists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists and the like who say the ABIM has forced them to do busywork that serves no purpose other than to fatten the board’s bloated coffers...
For more details, read the rest of "The Ugly Civil War in American Medicine".