By March 19, 2021, your organization is required to submit data about your 2020 continuing medical education (CME) activities and overall CME program in the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s (ACCME) Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). In addition to year-end reporting requirements, please review your organization’s contacts and make updates to individual roles as needed. 

Need assistance or a refresher on PARS? Join the California Medical Association’s (CMA) CME’s webinar on Thursday, January 28, 2021, from 3–4 p.m. for information and details on how to complete year-end reporting. Register now at CMA Providers: Year End Reporting.

What data do I have to report by Friday, March 19, 2021?

There are three components to your year-end reporting requirements:

1. Report information descriptive of each CME activity your organization provided in 2020 
2. Report the 2020 income for your overall program of CME on the Program Summary page in PARS
3. Once you have completed steps one and two above, you must complete the annual attestation, which is found at the bottom of the Program Summary page.

Completion of these three steps will fulfill your year-end reporting requirements. For additional information about year-end reporting requirements, visit Fulfilling Year End Reporting Requirements Using PARS.

Why is the due date of March 19, 2021, earlier than ACCME’s due date?

CMA is required to audit and ensure all CMA accredited providers have completed this requirement and attest to ACCME by March 31, 2021. This allows CMA time to follow up with California accredited CME Providers.

For additional information, download our Tips and Resources for Using the PARS system.

We appreciate your attention to this important data-reporting requirement.