Featured | Jan 1, 2024
Alabama physicians must obtain 25.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits annually or equivalent credits. Exemptions include retirement, new licensees, disability waivers, and military service.
Alabama Healthcare Scene
Alabama, the state that brought you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and an annoyingly good college football team, has a healthcare problem. Before we get into Alabama CME requirements, let’s first look into the backdrop Alabama physicians operate in. From a McKinsey & Co. report, the state ranks 47th in health care rank (41st in health care access, 31st in quality, and dead last in public health). Although this is not completely indicative of the skills of Alabama’s physicians – there is only so much you can do, when your state has the 4th highest poverty rate. By comparing publicly available data on poverty levels in US states, we found that there is a positive correlation (0.68) between health care quality ranking and poverty ranking. Which is to say that the poorer states tend to have worst health care systems.
Alabama CME Requirements
Alabama physicians are required to get 25.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits every year, which is right about on par with the average physician in the US. Also acceptable are: Category 1-A CME, which is sponsored or conducted by the American Osteopathic Association; “Prescribed hour” CME sponsored by American Academy of Family Physicians; documented attendance at grand rounds; and MoC credits, as long as its in the year that your MoC is completed.
Overview of Alabama CME requirements
Exemptions for Alabama CME Requirements
There are a few scenarios in which you don’t need to adhere to Alabama CME requirements and they are:
- If you are retired;
- If you just received your initial license this calendar year, you are exempt for this year’s requirement
- If you have applied for and received from the Board a disability waiver, your CME requirement can be waived
- If you are enrolled in a residency training program or clinical fellowship during the year, you are exempt for that year
- If you served in the military for any amount of time during the year, you are exempt for the year are deployed
Maintenance of Records
As licensees, you are required to maintain personal CME records for three years following the year in which the CME was earned. (Don’t know how to maintain records? Check this out.) The Board has the right to examine your documentation, which consists of certificates of attendance, completion certificates, proof of registration, or similar documentation issued by the organization or entity sponsoring or conducting the CME program: it is important to keep in mind that the Physician Recognition Award (PRA) alone is not sufficient documentation. Do not send your CME certificates with your renewal application; you will be informed if the Board wishes to examine your documentation. A random audit of physicians and assistants to physicians is completed annually. If you are among the chosen licensees of the year, you will receive a letter requesting documentation of having met the requirement or of exemption.
How to Complete Alabama CME Requirements
The following are great courses for Alabama physicians:
Emerging Challenges in Primary Care 2017 Birmingham, AL
Enroll Before: May 20 2017
Price: Free
Credits: 6.0 AMA PRA Category I Credit(s) ™ / 6.0 AANP Contact hour(s)
End-of-Life Care Series, Module 1: Ethics and End of Life
Enroll Before: December 31, 2017
Price: $44.00
Credits: 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
Pain Management Strategies in the Elderly Inpatient
Enroll Before: September 11, 2017
Price: $50.00
Credits: 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
The Female Sexual History and Examination
Enroll Before: February 14, 2020
Price: Free
Credits: 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
Breast Cancer Screening: Explaining the Pros and the Cons
Enroll Before: March 01, 2020
Price: Free
Credits: 1 AMA PRA Category I
Enroll Before: February 22, 2020
Price: Free
Credits: 0.5 AMA PRA Category I
