Practice Improvement Module

As a physician with patients participating in the Medicare Health Support program, you are encouraged to take advantage of the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM's) Practice Improvement Module (PIM), a web-based self-evaluation tool that guides you in applying quality measurement to your practice and using results from that measurement to guide actions to improve care.

Upon completion of the PIM, Healthways - the company administering the Medicare Health Support program in your area - will reimburse you for the costs of the PIM. Modules available for this program include Diabetes and Care of the Vulnerable Elderly.

You must be enrolled in ABIM's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program to participate in this offer. If you are enrolled in MOC, completing a PIM will provide you with 20 Category 1 CME credits and 40 points toward your recertification. The Diabetes PIM also includes an option for using the data you collect to apply for NCQA's Diabetes Physician Recognition Program.

Collecting patient data for a PIM takes between five and ten hours. The time needed to test an improvement idea and measure its impact lasts anywhere from four weeks to six months, depending on the outcome chosen. To review a tutorial that walks you through the PIM, visit http://www.abim.org/moc/sempbpi.shtm.

For a detailed description of the PIM, including the steps involved in the quality improvement cycle, download the following PDF: PIM FactSheet

To order the Diabetes and/or Care of the Vulnerable Elderly PIM, contact the ABIM at 800-441-2246, ext. 3567 or order online at https://www.abim.org/online/default.aspx.

About the American Board of Internal Medicine

The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), established in 1936, is the U.S. board that sets the standards and certifies the knowledge, skills and attitudes of physicians who practice in Internal Medicine, its subspecialties and areas of added qualifications.

Through ABIM's Certification and Maintenance of Certification processes, successful candidates are awarded or maintain Board Certified status. These physicians have demonstrated the ability and the commitment to lifelong learning necessary to provide the high quality of medical care that every patient deserves.