Approximately 15,000 to 20,000 people attend the annual meeting, where anesthesiologists can obtain CME credits throughout the event. In 2009, attendees were able to rack up to 35 hours worth of the education credits.

“It is a packed schedule full of opportunities for attendees to obtain CME on a wide variety of anesthesia topics, as well as learn the most current information in the field,” says Cole.


ASA is also making access to its meeting’s CME opportunities readily available online. The courses are either streamed live or archived in the “Annual Meeting Highlights” program, which delivers the best CME courses to practitioners who could not make the meeting, explains Cole.

The Anesthesiology 2010 ASA annual meeting will be held in San Diego, Calif. from Oct.16 to 20, where anesthesiologists will be able to earn up to 40 CME credits.

Reforming CME incentives
Among its many provisions, the health care bill addresses the importance of CME for all physicians. Starting in 2011, medical professionals will be eligible for an additional 0.5 percent incentive payment for participating in an approved maintenance of certification program, if they successfully report the measures as a part of the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative and complete a program practice assessment.

Anesthesiologists will be able to take advantage of this prospect if a maintenance of certification program becomes approved with Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, explains Cole. Physicians who participate in reporting initiative will receive a 1 percent incentive payment in 2011 and a 0.5 percent incentive from 2012 to 2015.

“Beginning in 2015, the incentive payment goes away and is replaced by a punitive measure,” explains Cole. “Thus, eligible professionals who do not successfully participate will experience a 1.5 percent payment reduction in 2015, which increases to 2 percent in 2016. The 2 percent cut is in place for each subsequent year unless Congress enacts contrary legislation,” he says.

Anesthesiology is a complex field, requiring a demanding blend of medical knowledge and experience with patients. CME ensures that specialized physicians continue to excel in their field.

“We’re extremely dedicated to improving the quality of care. We think we do an exceptional job today, but we want to be better tomorrow and CME and the tie that it has to performance improvement is one of the main vehicles by which we accomplish our duty to our patients,” says Cole.

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