TY  - JOUR
T1  - FAirness and effectiveness of maintenance of certification
AU  - Donohoe M
Y1  - 2011/09/12
N1  - 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.385
JO  - Archives of Internal Medicine
SP  - 1507
EP  - 1507
VL  - 171
IS  - 16
N2  - 
In the process of addressing common misconceptions, Levinson and Holmboe1 rightly note the benefits to physicians and their patients of board recertification. However, nowhere do they note that in internal medicine, those physicians who became board certified after 1992 (myself included) are required to recertify every 10 years, while those at the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) who originally created this policy do not have to recertify, unless required to do so by their employers. Given the costs associated with recertification (recertification fee of $1570-$1772 per 10 years, plus time lost from work or vacation to take the examination), this amounts to a regressive tax, since it falls more heavily on younger physicians who have spent fewer years in practice and may have lower incomes and higher educational debts.

SN  - 0003-9926
M3  - doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.385
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/archinternmed.2011.385
ER  -