The Scholarly Upside to MOC4

Background: Many medical boards require quality improvement (QI) projects for Maintenance of Certification Part IV (MOC4) credits. The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) allows health care organizations that can demonstrate sufficient QI standards to become Portfolio Program Sponsors. This enables internal review and approval of QI projects, crediting all sufficiently contributing physicians. The University of Minnesota's M Health Fairview MOC4 Review Board (MMRB) was approved as an ABMS Portfolio Program Sponsor; the impact was surveyed from inception in 2016 to 2022. The objective was to examine the impact of a Portfolio Sponsor program on scholarship, sustainability, and spread of QI projects.

Methods: The authors developed and validated an eight-question survey directed at MOC4 principal investigators (PIs) who were awarded credits through the MMRB from 2016 to 2022. Participants reported on numbers of peer-reviewed publication or presentation, and their perception of increased preparedness for scholarship due to the application process. They also reported on sustainment or spread following their original QI project.

Results: Fifty projects were reviewed over a seven-year span. Of these, 44 were approved as demonstrating sufficient QI rigor per ABMS standards. Of 41 PIs, 27 (65.9%) responded to the survey; 15 (55.6%) agreed that the MMRB process helped prepare them for scholarly dissemination, 19 (70.4%) delivered oral or poster presentations, and 10 (37.0%) submitted a total of 14 manuscripts for publication, 10 of which were accepted. A total of 23 QI projects (85.2%) were sustained, and 10 (37.0%) had spread.

Conclusion: In addition to generating essential MOC4 credits for participating physicians, an MMRB process can help PIs prepare for scholarship, project sustainment, and spread.