CME Requirements for Licensure Renewal Changing as of October 17th

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10/08/2019

CME Requirements for Licensure Renewal Changing as of October 17th

As part of this year’s state budget legislation that passed in mid-July, several changes were made to physician licensure laws enforced by the State Medical Board of Ohio.

The most notable change was to the number of continuing education (CME) hours required to be completed every two years to be eligible for license renewal. While the previous requirement was 40 hours of Category 1, and 60 hours of Category 2, the new requirement strikes out Category 2 entirely and in exchange, bumps the Category 1 criterion up to 50 hours.

This new 50-hour requirement also applies to the 3-year renewal period of clinical research faculty physicians. Provisions in this section also limit the number of hours of CME a physician or podiatrist may earn through provision of health care services as a volunteer to 3 hours.

The State Medical Board of Ohio released the following guidance this month to clarify the new law.

CME Guidance

Effective October 17, 2019, Ohio’s continuing medical education (CME) requirements for physicians and physician assistants will change. The following information is offered to assist licensees in preparing to meet the new requirements.

Physicians with October 1, 2019 renewal dates renewed under current law and were responsible for having completed 100 hours of CME, at least 40 of which must be Category 1.
Physicians with January 1, 2020 renewal dates are strongly encouraged to complete at least 50 hours of Category 1 CME. However, we understand that circumstances may prevent a physician from doing so, and we would apply the old law requiring 100 hours of CME, at least 40 of which must be Category 1.
Physicians with renewal dates of April 1, 2020 and beyond are expected to complete 50 hours of Category 1 CME.
Category 2 CME is not being “eliminated.” However, completion of Category 2 CME will not count towards meeting the CME requirements for renewal.
The CME requirements of the various ABMS and AOA Certifying Boards are separate from Ohio’s requirements. The change to Ohio law does not impact any requirements a physician must meet to maintain board certification.