Certification by an ABMS Member Board is considered the gold standard of physician credentials. It verifies the professional's claim to have fulfilled requirements set by the Board to provide specialty care. Physicians are not required to be board certified, but many institutions verify certification before appointment or reappointment determinations are made.

Certification by an ABMS Member Board is considered the gold standard of physician credentials. It verifies the professional's claim to have fulfilled requirements set by the Board to provide specialty care. To ensure that certified physicians stay up-to-date as medical technology and standards of care evolve, all 24 Member Boards have developed the ABMS Maintenance of Certification™ program. The program ensures a physician’s lifelong commitment to patient care through continuous professional development.

While physicians are not required to be board certified, many institutions verify certification before appointment or reappointment determinations are made. Approximately 85% of licensed physicians in the country hold board certification from an ABMS Member Board.

For this reason alone, it is important to make sure you have the most accurate information, though physician data may change frequently for several reasons:

• Time-limited certification is the norm for recently certified physicians
• More physicians are participating in Maintenance of Certification programs
• Routine changes in information due to certificate expiration or loss of certification
• Subspecialty designations may be obtained by physicians throughout their careers

Most healthcare institutions have a defined process for credentialing which follows applicable laws, regulations and standards. The process is essential for the proper selection of a facility's professional staff to ensure meeting the institution's goals, patient safety and the needs of the community.

Credentialing personnel must be sure that the information they have is current and from a reliable source. Board certification data used for credentialing, reporting and decision making should be verified directly with a primary source or equivalent.

Quarterly verification of board certification should be sufficient to track changes in an individual physician's information. However, ABMS highly recommends that verifications also be conducted as close as possible to the time of decision, assessment or report to ensure that data is the most current. ABMS data is updated daily to ensure you have the most current information available.

ABMS is a designated primary equivalent source of credential information. The information provided is considered to be identical to the information at the primary source because of its accuracy and currency.