(WASHINGTON and PHILADELPHIA, February 7, 2007) – Physicians who treat a blood disorder called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), characterized by easy bruising and excessive bleeding, now have a new tool to help them provide the best care for patients with this disease. This Web-based performance evaluation tool is the first non-malignant hematology Practice Improvement Module (PIM), co-created by the American Society of Hematology (ASHTM) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).
"This PIM is a critical and thorough training tool developed by top experts in the field," said Lawrence A. Solberg Jr., MD, PhD, a member of ASH's Committee on Practice. "For anyone who treats patients with ITP, this is an invaluable resource."
Physicians who are enrolled in ABIM's Maintenance of Certification program must complete several self-evaluation steps, including reviewing patient charts and answering questions that determine compliance with pre-established performance measures developed by ASH that are important in the care of patients with ITP.
After applying these measures in reviewing their patients' charts, ASH provides data that allow physicians to compare their performance with other hematologists. Physicians can then enter their data into ABIM's online Self-Directed module to examine their current processes of diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of patients with ITP. This provides physicians with a basis for determining specific ways in which their patient care could be improved, and is used in designing and implementing a practice improvement plan. ABIM's Self-Directed PIM makes it easy to enter the data, design the improvement plan, and report to ABIM on the changes made to the practice.
"We commend ASH for their continued efforts to identify performance measures to improve the quality of care for patients with blood disorders," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, president and CEO of the American Board of Internal Medicine. "Physicians can use these new measures to complete ABIM's Self-Directed PIM and get credit for Maintenance of Certification at the same time that they are working to continually enhance high quality care to their patients."
A total of 100 points are required by ABIM in both medical knowledge and practice improvement for recertification, and ASH is an important resource to meet this need. PIMs are available on myelodysplastic syndromes and multiple myeloma, in addition to ITP. Each PIM provides board-certified physicians enrolled in the Maintenance of Certification program 20 practice improvement points, as well as 20 Category 1 continuing medical education (CME) credits.
Hematologists may also earn 60 Maintenance of Certification points and 37.5 CME credits through a special edition of ASH's Self-Assessment Program, a comprehensive, educational textbook and companion Web site which provides the latest advances in adult and pediatric hematology. For more information on this publication and hematology PIMs, please visit the ASH Web site at http://www.hematology.org/education/recertification/index.cfm.
The American Society of Hematology is the world's largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders. Its mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems, by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.
The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) is an independent, not-for-profit organization that grants board certification – a marker of physician quality – to internists and subspecialists. Certification is a rigorous, comprehensive program for evaluating physician knowledge, skills, and attitudes to assure both patients and payers that a physician has achieved competence for practice in a given field. Individual physician certification results may be found at www.abim.org.