• Maintain compliance with accreditation rules
• Fulfill year-end reporting requirements in the ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS)
• Pay accreditation fees in a timely manner
• Promptly inform CMA of changes to organizational and personal changes by emailing cme@cmadocs.org and updating contact information in PARS
• Respond to our requests for evidence of your continuous compliance with accreditation requirements
• Attend our educational events, including annual meeting, accreditation workshop, and webinars
• Review resources found on this website (for CMA pertinent information) and our national accreditor, ACCME’s website

Prior to the expiration of an organization’s accreditation term, the organization will be reassessed by CMA. We will initiate this process with your organization and are here to help you be successful. Organizations seeking reaccreditation will be required to submit an Intent to Apply for Reaccreditation, a Self-Study Report, and Performance in Practice Structured Abstracts for demonstrated evidence of their activities during the term of their accreditation, and to undergo an Accreditation Interview. These are the basis of the accreditation decision.

Please contact cme@cmadocs.org with any questions, as well as using the resources on this website for more information.

Your organizations primary contact in PARS will be notified 12-13 months prior to your current accreditation expiration. Please ensure that contact information is accurate and current. You will also receive provider timelines and milestones, detailed processes and resources.

Accredited providers are assigned to accreditation groups, or cohorts, and each group is assigned the same deadlines for submissions and reviews.

You will be provided access to this form within the PARS Accreditation Management System. This will confirm your organization intent to seek reaccreditation and to attest to your intent to continue to follow the CMA/ACCME’s Accreditation Criteria, Standards for Commercial Support, and policies), and agree to fulfill the responsibilities associated with being an CMA-accredited provider.

You may request a one-time extension of your current accreditation term if your organization is not able to meet CMA’s accreditation process deadlines. If approved, your current accreditation term will be extended approximately four months to the next CMA decision cycle, and your accreditation review will be conducted in the subsequent decision cohort. You will be required to meet the administrative deadlines of the new decision cohort and standard extension fee will apply.

All information and materials will be submitted to PARS. You will also use PARS to schedule your accreditation interview. The forms you are required to complete will be made available to you in PARS in a sequential process, starting with the Confirmation of Intent form. 

Providers are required to submit a self-study report for reaccreditation. CMA uses the self-study report, along with performance in practice structed abstracts of CMA selected activities, and other data including annual reports and other interval monitoring data submitted by the provider throughout the accreditation term, to evaluate the providers ability to fulfil its educational mission effectively and comply with accreditation requirements. 

The self-study report is the providers' opportunity to tell its story through assessment of its commitment and role in providing CME, analyze its current practices, identify areas to improve, direction for the future and effectively present these results to CMA. 

CMA selects activities that must be submitted as evidence of Performance-in-Practice. Up to eight activities will be selected, representing each type of activity and spanning the entire term of accreditation. Providers are accountable for demonstrating performance-in-practice for all the activities selected.

Accredited providers seeking reaccreditation must participate in an Interview with CMA Surveyors. This provides an opportunity for your organization to discuss your CME program, policies and practices to ensure compliance. 

During the interview, the surveyors will seek clarification about any questions they may have regarding the materials you submitted. CMA utilizes Zoom webinar as the standard accreditation interview format, and interviews typically average 90 minutes in length.

CMA has a multi-level process for making accreditation and reaccreditation decisions to ensure accuracy and fairness. Decisions are determined through a review of submitted materials and the survey interview by CMA CME Surveyors, followed by review and recommendation by the CMA Steering Committee on CME, and finally ratified by the CMA Board of Trustees. CMA CME staff provide support and guidance throughout the process. 

Your organization will receive notification from CMA of the accreditation status and term that your organization has been assigned.

For each applicable accreditation requirement, a provider receives one of the following compliance findings:

• Compliance: CME provider fulfilled the CMA’s requirements for the specific criterion, standards or policy.
• Noncompliance: CME provider did not fulfill the CMA’s requirements for the specific criterion, standards or policy.
• Not Applicable: CME provider was not required to comply with the specific criterion, standards or policy. For example, CME providers seeking reaccreditation would receive a finding of “not applicable” in policy areas that do not apply to the types of activities they produce.
• Evidence Not Submitted: CME provider chose not to submit documentation to demonstrate compliance with the ACCME’s Criteria for Commendation. Providers applying for reaccreditation must meet the requirements of the Core Criteria, Standards for Integrity and Independence and policies but are not required to demonstrate compliance with the Criteria for Commendation. If the CME provider chose not to submit documentation to demonstrate compliance for the Criteria for Commendation, the provider would receive a finding of “evidence not submitted” for those Criteria.

Providers typically receive one of the following decisions:

• Reaccreditation:  A four-year accreditation term based on compliance with Core Criteria, Standards for Integrity and Independence and all accreditation policies. Continued accreditation may include a requirement for a progress report to remedy areas found to be in non-compliance. 
• Accreditation with Commendation: A six-year accreditation term based on compliance with the Core Criteria, Standards for Integrity and Independence and all accreditation policies plus commendation criteria. 
• Probation: Applies when an organization’s application and activity files demonstrate significant noncompliance with CMA requirements either at the time of reaccreditation or upon submission of an interim report. Providers on Probation are required to submit progress reports. Providers cannot remain on Probation for longer than two years.

• Non-accreditation: Applies when an organization is found to have serious noncompliance issues, is on probation and fails to demonstrated it has achieved compliance within two years, or in rare instances status is changed due to recurrent compliance with the  the ACCME Standards for Integrity and Independence and/or has received previous decisions of Probation, and/or has engaged in joint providerships while on Probation in violation of joint providership policy.