American Board of Medical Specialties American Hospital Association American Medical Association Association of American Medical Colleges Association for Hospital Medical Education Council of Medical Specialty Societies Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) sets and enforces standards in physician continuing education (or "lifelong learning") within the United States. It acts as the overseeing body for institutions and organizations providing continuing medical education (CME) activities.
The Council's seven founding member organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Association for Hospital Medical Education (AHME), the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB).[2] These organizations established the ACCME in 1981.
The ACCME sets standards and certifies that institutions and organizations meet those standards. "CME credit" is part of special programs offered by other organizations (e.g. the American Medical Association) and is not the purview of the ACCME.
The ACCME's mission is to provide those in the medical field with opportunities to maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. A voluntary self-regulated system and a peer-review process are used to regulate and accredit medical education providers.
The primary responsibilities of the ACCME are to:[3]
serve as the body accrediting institutions and organizations offering continuing medical education (CME)
develop criteria for evaluation of both educational programs and their activities by which ACCME and state accrediting bodies will accredit institutions and organizations and be responsible for assuring compliance with these standards
develop, or foster the development of, methods for measuring the effectiveness of continuing medical education and its accreditation, particularly in its relationship to supporting quality patient care and the continuum of medical education.
The 2022 ACCME Data Report[4] includes information on 1,620 accredited CME providers that offered 230,000 accredited educational activities. As of 2023, the organization has 36 employees.
