MOC Part IV

All Physicians at UAMS are required to maintain their certification with the board representing their medical specialty. While each Board has developed its own specific requirements which must be met for Maintenance of Certification (MOC), most have adopted the same four general requirements:

Part I. Professionalism and Professional Standing – including holding a valid, unrestricted medical license
Part II. Lifelong Learning and Self-Assessment – educational activities, including self-assessment of knowledge
Part III. Assessment of Knowledge, Judgment, and Skills – primarily re-certification exam
Part IV. Improvement in Medical Practice – participate in assessing and improving health care

To meet Part IV of their MOC, most Boards require their physicians to participate in assessment and improvement activities designed to improve patient outcomes, the patient care experience, and the value of the health care experience in their own practice and/or within the broader medical system in which they practice.  These assessment and improvement activities are commonly referred to as Quality Initiatives (QI).

Most Boards offer their physicians a variety of options for meeting their MOC Part IV requirements, but UAMS encourages our physicians to participate in an institution-based QI project.  While such projects may require more effort than other Board-sponsored options, the benefits of participating in a QI project are considerable:

  • QI projects are an invaluable tool for enabling physicians to expand their medical knowledge, improve their practice and increase patient safety.
  • QI projects may also lead to better clinical processes, improved clinical outcomes and/or cost savings
  • All Physicians at UAMS must maintain their Board certification which, for the majority of Boards, requires participation in a Part IV project.

QI projects, then, are not only a way for physicians to maintain their required board certification but also, most critically, to improve patient care.

Complete information on the MOC Part IV process at UAMS can be found here.