Dr. Akhter, who practices addiction medicine, was informed in August 2018 that he was selected for a random audit of his ABPN MOC activities. During the audit, officials informed Dr. Akhter that the continuing medical education (CME) requirement for completion of his 3-year continuance maintenance of certification (C-MOC) cycle had not been met, according to the suit. As part of the 3-year C-MOC cycle, physicians are required to complete 90 CME credits, including 24 credits for self-assessment (SA) activities. ABPN defines SA activities as a specific type of CME activity that help physicians recognize their current knowledge base in order to identify specific topics for gaining further knowledge. Although Dr. Akhter had obtained a subspecialty certification from the American Board of Preventive Medicine, including completion of 60 CME credits that included SA activities, the board determined that those efforts did not fulfill Dr. Akhter’s SA CME requirements. The board denied his request to recognize the 60 CME credits as SA CME credits and also refused to give him SA CME credits for obtaining his subspecialty certification, the lawsuit says. He now is listed on the ABPN website as “Not Meeting MOC Requirements.”
The ABPN has not yet responded to the lawsuit. Defendants generally have 30 days from the time a challenge is filed to respond, unless they request an extension. Court documents show that an attorney for ABPN entered his appearance on March 20.
Dr. Richard Rosin
The ABPN lawsuit comes on the heels of a similar class action filed last year by a group of internists against the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) over its MOC process. That lawsuit, filed Dec. 6 in Pennsylvania district court, contends that the ABIM is charging inflated monopoly prices for maintaining certification and that the organization is violating antitrust laws. In a motion filed March 18, attorneys for the ABIM asked the court to dismiss the suit for failure to state a valid claim. A third lawsuit that levies similar allegations against the Board of Radiology was filed in late February. All three lawsuits are being funded by the advocacy organization Practicing Physicians of America, through a GoFundMe campaign.
Richard Rosin, MD, a geriatric psychiatrist based in Vancouver, said in an interview that he welcomes and applauds the lawsuit against ABPN. He hopes that the legal challenge will put a spotlight on the board’s activities and compel administrators to answer questions about the MOC process that have gone unanswered in the past.