Physicians demand freedom from onerous and unproven requirements.

The National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS) applauds the recent announcement by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) regarding their joint effort to solicit public comments on anti-competitive and monopolistic practices in health care.

In September, NBPAS formally requested FTC to provide relief from what it believes is an effort by ABMS and its constituent boards to use their monopoly power to exclude or eliminate competitors from the continuing certification market. Importantly, other members of the organized medical community have also refused to deal with NBPAS, actions that are especially concerning given their overlapping board directorships and other close economic connections to ABMS.

NBPAS believes that there is no place for a monopoly that stifles competition, burns out physicians, increases consumer health care costs, and accelerates physician loss during an unprecedented, growing physician shortage. Notably, and after eight years of providing physicians with a more efficient, less burdensome, and less costly pathway for continuous board certification, NBPAS has been unable to gain significant ground in the market due to what it has experienced as deliberate barriers to competition and unfair trade practices.

“We urge every physician who has been harmed by ABMS MOC to speak now, speak loudly, and spread the word to every physician you know. Physicians have been asking to be heard on this subject for years and I am extremely heartened that FTC, DOJ, and HHS are providing the opportunity to listen,” noted NBPAS founder and president Paul Teirstein, MD. Comments may be submitted through the DOJ’s new portal here and presents an opportunity for physicians and the public to have their voices heard.

“At the end of the day, this is not about NBPAS,” Dr. Teirstein continued. “Our efforts underscore our belief that no one entity should wield self-appointed and unchecked control of physicians' lives and livelihoods. Our patients are suffering because our physicians are suffering. Taking a stand was the right thing to do and we are very proud to lead this fight on behalf of practicing physicians and those who will follow in our footsteps.”

NBPAS was started by physicians in response to the demand for a continuous certification pathway based on practice-relevant and specialty-specific Continuing Medical Education (CME). NBPAS meets national accreditation requirements for hospitals and health plans and currently certifies more than 13,000 physicians at over two hundred institutions including hospitals, health systems, academic hospitals, telemedicine companies, major payors, and the VHA system. NBPAS’ continuous board certification program reduces physician burnout and improves the physician shortage through its evidence-driven, clinically relevant certification pathway.

About the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS):

Established in 2015, the National Board of Physicians and Surgeons (NBPAS) is a non-profit, physician-led organization which provides a pathway for continuous certification in all of the broadly recognized areas of specialty medical practice. NBPAS is led by a board of unpaid physicians, thought leaders in clinical and academic medicine, and is the only continuing certification board that strictly prohibits the discriminatory practice of time-unlimited "grandfathering.” To learn more about NBPAS’ mission and offerings, please visit nbpas.org.

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