Transcript Sarah Sabol PARS Who: ACCME What: Program and Activity Reporting System When: Annually, by March 31 Helps ACCME and providers demonstrate the size, scope and value of the.

Sarah Sabol
PARS
Who: ACCME
What: Program
and Activity Reporting System
When: Annually,
by March 31
Helps ACCME and providers
demonstrate the size, scope and value of
the CME enterprise
Why?:
All of Michigan’s State Accredited Provider’s successfully
completed entries for their 2014 data in PARS.
Similar Challenges from 2014
 Regularly Scheduled Series
 Categorizing Activities
 Designed to Change & Changes Evaluated
 Summary Page Challenges
Regularly Scheduled Series Errors
 Multiple entries for 1 RSS - For each RSS that you have, one
entry must encompass the entire year’s worth of data.

Example: Medical Grand Rounds held weekly for 1 hour – list once as
Medical Grand Rounds
 Dates for RSS – Enter the first and last dates of your RSS

Example: January 1, 2013-December 31, 2013
 Number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM Designated –
Enter your total for the entire year for that particular RSS

Example: 52 credits (assuming no meetings were cancelled)
Regularly Scheduled Series Errors
 Number of “physicians” who completed activity- For
each RSS that you have, one entry must encompass the
entire year’s worth of data.

Example: Medical Grand Rounds held weekly and had 10
attendees at every session for the year – add attendees for year
(10 x 52) for a total of 520.
 Number of “other learners” who completed activity-
For each RSS that you have, one entry must encompass
the entire year’s worth of data.

Example: Medical Grand Rounds held weekly and had 2 “other
learner” attendees at every session for the year – add attendees
for year (2 x 52) for a total of 104.
Categorizing Activities:
Course vs. Performance Improvement
 Course = live CME activity where the learner participates in person;
planned as an individual event.
 Examples: annual meeting, conference, seminar.
 Performance improvement activities = long-term, 3-stage
project by which a physician or group of physicians assess their
practice using selected performance measures (i.e., chart review)
(stage A), learn about specific performance measures (i.e.,
educational intervention) (stage B), and then reassess their practice
using the same performance measures (stage C)
 Physicians can earn up to 20 credits for participating in CME-certified
PI activities (5 credits per stage plus an additional 5 credits for
completing all 3 stages)
Just because you may be measuring “Performance Improvement”
does not make it a Performance Improvement Activity
Designed to Change &
Changes Evaluated
Designed to Change &
Changes Evaluated Errors
 Fields in the this section are often left blank –
Criterion 3 requires …..”the generation of
activities/educational interventions designed to
change competence, performance or patient
outcomes…”
 – Check your planning document to see what your
activity was designed to do. It must be designed to
at least change one of the three (Competence,
Performance or Patient Outcomes).
Changes Evaluated Errors
 Check your files to see what you measured. Look at
your evaluation instrument or other
measurement tools (such as QI Data reports) to
see what data you measured.
Again, you are required to measure changes in at least
one of the three areas (Competence, Performance or
Patient Outcomes).
Summary Page Challenges
 Entered Data but did not “Attest” on the Summary Page
 Entered activities but they are still in the “open” tab vs
“closed” activity tab – Field(s) are missing data. Activities
will automatically move to “closed” when all required fields
are completed.
Common Questions
When can I enter data in PARS?
Data in PARS can be entered at anytime. MSMS
encourages providers to enter their activity data on a
regular basis. You do not have to wait until the
official notification regarding the March 31st
deadline.
Common Questions
I already “Attested” but I realized I made a mistake.
How can I correct my error?
Notify Brenda. MSMS can remove your “Attestation” in
your summary which will allow you to make any changes
to your data. To re-close the year, you must “reattest” the summary page.
Common Questions
I’ve forgotten my password, how can it be reset?
Go to the PARS login.
Select “Request a password” and enter your email
address and Organization ID.
Overview of 2015 Changes
A. Some Activity Data that was optional is now required
in 2015.
B. Some Activity Data that was previously required is no
longer required for individual CME Activities.
C. Program Summary changes
D. Terminology & Definition Changes
E. Batch Upload Resources
Why Changes?
 Implementing improvements based on provider and stakeholder
feedback.
 Elimination of some data requirements that have been difficult
to standardize and have not been shown to add value.
 Added data fields and changed some of the optional fields to
required fields in order to collect information that will increase
the value of PARS.
 Support alignment with stakeholders involved in physician
continuing professional development (i.e., credit, licensure, and
certification systems).
 Aggregated data will provide a more comprehensive picture of
the size, scope, and accomplishments of the national CME
enterprise.
New Required Activity Data
For 2015 Activities – previously optional
 Name of joint providers (formerly “joint sponsors”)
 Number of designated AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
 Competency(ies) the activity was designed to address
 Name of commercial supporter(s), the monetary
amount of support, and/or the type of in-kind support
given by each supporter.
Joint Providership and Number of
AMA PRA Category 1 Credit
Competencies & Participation
Participation:
• Residents are now
counted with
physicians
• Non-Physicians
are now
considered “other
learners”
Commercial Support changes
Changes, continued
The following will not be reported for individual
activities.
 Advertising and exhibit income. This information
will be submitted only in aggregate in the Program
Summary.
 Income from other sources. This information will be
submitted only in aggregate, in three specific
categories, in the Program Summary.
 Expenses. This information will no longer be
collected in PARS.
NEW!
Income
 Income from Other Sources has been replaced with
three specific income categories:
 Registration fees (includes registration, subscription, or
publication fees received from CME activity participants)
 Government grants
 Private donations (including grants from foundations)
Providers will no longer be required to include allocations from their
parent organization or other internal departments.
TERMINOLOGY & DEFINITON CHANGES
 Sponsorship is now providership
 Activities will be described as directly provided or jointly provided.
 This change reflects the terminology change included in
the simplification of the ACCME requirements and process.
 Non physicians are called other learners.
 Includes activity participants other than MDs and DOs.
 Residents should be included as physicians beginning with
the 2015 reporting year
PARS Tools
Reports Generated in PARS
 Download All
Activities Report
 Download Summary
of Closed Activities
Report
Download All Activities Report
This excel report contains all the data entered about the
activities for a specific year.
This data can be used for lots of analysis and data from
various years can be used to analyze trends.
Download Summary of Closed
Activities
This pdf report contains all the data entered about the
activities for a specific year.
Download
Summary of
Closed
Activities
Example:
PARS Tools
For Providers that do not have another electronic system
to store their CME Data, PARS can be particularly useful
as a place to store and access their activity data.
ACCME Resources
http://www.accme.org/cme-providers/maintaining-youraccreditation/about-pars
BATCH UPLOAD RESOURCES FOR 2015 REPORTING YEAR
PARS Tab-delimited Upload Process: A Tutorial
Tab Delimited Upload Template for 2015
Tab Delimited Upload Instructions for 2015
XML Upload Template and Instructions for 2015
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Q&A about PARS 2015 Changes
Accreditation Requirements and Descriptions of the ACCME
PARS Tab-delimited Upload Process: A Tutorial
ACCME Resources
http://www.accme.org/cme-providers/maintaining-youraccreditation/about-pars
BATCH UPLOAD RESOURCES FOR 2015 REPORTING YEAR
PARS Tab-delimited Upload Process: A Tutorial
Tab Delimited Upload Template for 2015
Tab Delimited Upload Instructions for 2015
XML Upload Template and Instructions for 2015
EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES
Q&A about PARS 2015 Changes
Accreditation Requirements and Descriptions of the ACCME
PARS Tab-delimited Upload Process: A Tutorial
MSMS Resources
Call or Email Brenda Marenich
Phone: 517-336-7580
Email: [email protected]
Questions?