Can Maintenance of Certification Work? Associations of MOC and Improvements in Physicians’ Knowledge and Practice

Purpose To summarize the findings of studies, conducted by individuals both internal and external to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member Boards, of the associations of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) and improvements in physicians’ knowledge and patient care processes or outcomes. Method The authors conducted a narrative review of studies identified by searching PubMed and Web of Science for English-language articles from the United States published between 2000 and May 2017. To be included, articles had to examine the relationship of MOC to physician knowledge, clinical practice processes, or patient care outcomes. The initial search yielded 811 articles. After two rounds of review and excluding those articles that did not fit the study criteria, 39 articles were included for analysis. Results The 39 included studies were conducted by or included diplomates of 12 ABMS Member Boards. Twenty-two studies examined MOC processes that were developed by an ABMS Board; 17 examined interventions that were developed by nonboard entities but accepted for MOC credit by an ABMS Board. Thirty-eight studies examined a single component of MOC; 24 studied the improvement in medical practice component. Thirty-seven studies reported at least one positive outcome. Conclusions Most of the studies included in this review highlighted circumstances in which MOC was associated with positive impacts on physician knowledge and patient care processes or outcomes. Future collaborative research is needed to improve the relevance, helpfulness, and generalizability of continuing certification to different physicians across specialties and practice settings.