Introduction
As an OD board certified by ABCMO you are already required to maintain your state license of record which is on file with your credentialing committee if you are on the staff of a federal medical facility. Your state license of record will require that a minimum number of CE hours be taken in the past 1 or 2 years, depending upon how often your license is renewed. If your state license of record requires that a certain number of CE hours be taken in specific CE courses not relevant to medical optometry you must take those courses but then fill all remaining CE hours needed for license renewal by taking COPE-ARBO approved and accredited CE courses relevant to medical optometry to maintain your ABCMO board certification as a specialist in medical optometry.
When to Begin
State license renewals are every year (or every two years) and the date for beginning to participate in MOC is the expiration date of your current license of record.
Because licenses usually expire at the end of a calendar year, your starting MOC will probably be January 2021 or January 2022 (two year renewal). ABCMO already requires holding the highest level of licensure available in your state license of record.
States may require specified and mandatory CE hours be taken and those CE hours, added to COPE accredited and approved CE hours (B and C categories) must equal the number of CE hours required for license renewal. MOC requires only COPE approved and accredited CE hours (B and C categories) but additional CE hours may be taken voluntarily.
Step by Step
- Fill the number of CE course hours required for your state license renewals with COPE-ARBO approved and accredited CE hours relevant to Medical Optometry, except for any specific hours of named CE courses that may be required by your state board from time to time.
- Having maintained your license, send to ABCMO your COPE-ARBO list of approved and accredited CE courses you attended during the renewal cycle to show you are meeting (1).
- Send ABCMO any adverse report(s) against you in the current National Practitioners Databank (NPDB).
- Authorize ABCMO to make any necessary inquiries to confirm the information above.
- Pay the ABCMO Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program fee every one or two years ($45 or $90) according to your license renewal schedule.
Important Notes
You have until your first state license renewal deadline after January 1, 2021 to enroll in the MOC Program. Failure to enroll at that time can result in loss of certification.
Rather than observe the expiration dates on past certifications and require retaking of the NBEO ACMO written examination the board believes this revised MOC program will be a far more effective, convenient and less costly way to maintain your competence and certification as a specialist in Medical Optometry.
- Until July 1, 2022, ABCMO certified ODs are urged to attend only COPE approved and accredited courses relevant to Medical Optometry that are sufficient to meet their required minimum number of hours for license renewals. While other CE courses may be taken they do not count towards meeting the ABCMO requirements for MOC.
- After July 1, 2022, ABCMO certified ODs are required to attend COPE approved and accredited courses in Medical Optometry selected from COPE-ARBO Categories B (Ocular Disease) and C (Related Systemic Disease) to meet their required CE hours for license renewals and to submit their MOC fees and their COPE attendance records courses to ABCMO.
This MOC program will:
- Better ensure competence in medical optometry is retained and updated following initial certification.
- Allow ABCMO to maintain a database or list of those certified in the specialty of medical optometry that is updated coincident with the each specialist’s renewal of their “state license of record” to practice optometry.
- Provide ABCMO with up-to-date information needed to respond to Verification of Certification requests by Credentialing Committees.
Filing Online
Simply fill out the form below
More Information
Please email any questions you have to info@abcmo.org