Pediatrician Maintenance of Certification Using American Board of Pediatrics' Performance Improvement Modules.

BACKGROUND: From 2010 to 2014, pediatricians completed Part 4 Maintenance of Certification (MOC) through practice- or organization-developed quality improvement (QI) activities approved by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). Organization-developed activities were online modules, such as the ABP's Performance Improvement Modules (PIMs), through which pediatricians implemented QI strategies in practice and reported quality measures.

OBJECTIVES: Aim 1 was to assess the proportion of pediatricians who completed practice- vs organization-developed QI activities for Part 4 MOC and to test the relationship between activities and pediatrician demographics. Aim 2 was to assess the relationship between PIM completion and improvement in care processes and outcomes as determined by PIM quality measures.

METHODS: For aim 1, using deidentified demographic data from the ABP, we summarized QI activity completion and performed bivariate testing by pediatrician demographics. For aim 2, using deidentified parent and pediatrician-reported quality measures from the Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Asthma, Hand Hygiene, and Influenza PIMs, we used 2-sample tests of proportions to calculate pre-post changes in quality measures.

RESULTS: For aim 1, of 50,433 pediatricians who completed Part 4 MOC from 2010 to 2014, 22% completed practice-developed and 78% organization-developed activities. More pediatricians completed organization-developed activities, regardless of age, gender, or subspecialty status. The majority (73%) of pediatricians who completed organization-developed activities completed ABP PIMs. For aim 2, PIM completion was associated with improvement on nearly all pediatrician- and parent-reported quality measures.

CONCLUSIONS: At the outset of the Part 4 MOC system, pediatricians most commonly completed online, organization-developed activities. Pediatricians and parents reported improvements in care processes and outcomes associated with PIMs, suggesting PIMs can be an effective means of facilitating practice improvement.