ASA September 2003 Newsletter

Attendees at the 2003 Annual Meeting should be aware that there will be a new procedure for awarding category 1 continuing medical education (CME) credit. ASA is required to follow the policies of the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and will no longer be permitted to issue global CME certificates but must institute a method for physicians to claim CME hours for educational sessions that were actually attended.

The 45 hours of CME credit noted on previous certificates from the ASA Annual Meeting represented the maximum that a physician could claim if he or she attended a session offered in every time slot throughout the five-day meeting. The certificates issued at previous meetings specifically noted that physicians should claim only those hours of CME the physician actually spent in educational activities. This process is no longer acceptable to ACCME, and continuing this practice would jeopardize ASA’s accreditation from ACCME and our ability to sponsor CME activities.

The new process will let physicians obtain CME credit by submitting a form indicating which sessions they attended. Physicians could still receive 45 CME credit hours if they attend a session at every opportunity. This procedure is similar to what is being used at other large medical meetings. The new process is described below and on the ASA Annual Meeting Web site: <www2.ASAhq.org>.

Procedure to Be Used to Claim CME Credit
Several weeks prior to the Annual Meeting, ASA will mail a documentation form and an attendance verification card, along with name badges and tickets, to individuals who have completed the preregistration process. On-site registrants will receive their documentation form at the time of registration.

To document attendance at the Annual Meeting and to receive a CME certificate, the attendee must:

1) Submit the attendance verification card in the registration area at the Annual Meeting.

2) Complete and sign the CME documentation form attesting to your participation in educational sessions. At the conclusion of the meeting, completed documentation forms can be dropped off in specially marked boxes in the registration area and other locations throughout the Moscone Center, or forms can be mailed to ASA by December 1, 2003. No forms will be accepted after this deadline. Faxed forms and e-mails will not be accepted.

3) Only CME documentation forms containing the preprinted name of the meeting registrant will be accepted by ASA. No alterations to the preprinted name will be accepted.

4) Attendees who return the documentation form to ASA by November 1 should receive their CME certificates in late November. For forms returned by December 1, the certificates will be sent in late December.

5) The CME credit to be awarded for attendance at educational sessions will be determined as in the table on page 29.

The Section on Annual Meeting has planned many excellent educational sessions at the 2003 Annual Meeting in San Francisco and hopes that you will be able to attend.

Click table to enlarge

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