American College of Chest Physicians Achieves Accreditation With Commendation

NORTHBROOK, Ill., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) has received Accreditation With Commendation from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This achievement grants the ACCP accreditation through November 2017 and places the organization in the highest tier of all continuing medical education (CME) providers, including some of the nation's most prestigious medical schools and professional medical societies.

ACCME-accredited providers certify educational activities for AMA PRA (American Medical Association's Physician's Recognition Award) Category 1 Credit™, which is used by state licensing boards and boards of medical specialties to relicense physicians and recertify them in their specialty areas. ACCME accreditation demonstrates that the CME provider is offering quality activities and products, which have been planned, implemented, and evaluated in accordance with standards. ACCME accreditation also assures the medical community and the public that such activities provide physicians and other health-care providers with interventions designed to improve the practice and delivery of medical care.  

"This recognition shows the effective collaboration of volunteer physicians and College staff in providing an educational program that excels in the design and implementation of the highest caliber of continuing medical education," said Kenneth G. Torrington, M.D., FCCP, Chair of the ACCP Education Committee. "The ACCP is honored to receive this recognition and proud of its leadership role in providing quality health-care education to its members throughout the pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine communities."

In achieving accreditation with commendation, the ACCP demonstrated:

• Integration of CME into the process for improving practice
• Utilization of noneducational strategies to enhance change
• Identification of factors outside its control that impact patient outcomes
• Implementation of educational strategies to remove, overcome, or address barriers to change
• Collaboration and cooperation with multiple stakeholders
• Participation within an institutional framework for quality improvement
• Position to influence the scope and content of its educational interventions

To qualify for ACCME Accreditation With Commendation, the ACCP implemented or developed the following initiatives: Critical Care Ultrasound Certificate of Completion program, Venous Thromboembolism Performance Improvement Module; The CHEST Foundation's OneBreath® campaign; Tobacco Dependence Treatment ToolKit; advocacy and interventions addressing the critical care workforce shortage; and participation in quality improvement efforts of the National Quality Forum,  Physician Consortium for Performance Improvement, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. 

About the American College of Chest Physicians

The ACCP represents 18,400 members who provide patient care in the areas of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine in the United States and over 100 countries throughout the world. The mission of the ACCP is to promote the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of chest diseases through education, communication, and research.  As part of its mission, the ACCP delivers high-quality continuing medical education in person, in print, online, and through mobile technology. CHEST is the official peer-reviewed publication of the ACCP. Over 30,000 readers worldwide turn to CHEST in print and 400,000 online each month for the latest in chest-related medicine. For more information about the ACCP, visit www.chestnet.org or follow the ACCP via social media at  at http://www.facebook.com/accpchest and www.twitter.com @accpchest.

The CHEST Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the ACCP and serves as the unifying force for the different medical specialties that form the ACCP community. Through its OneBreath: Make The Most Of It® campaign, The CHEST Foundation promotes public health awareness by focusing on three program pillars: education, care, and community. Learn more about The CHEST Foundation and OneBreath at www.onebreath.org.  

SOURCE American College of Chest Physicians