Continuing Medical Education

A Certificate of Accreditation in Continuing Medical Education was awarded by the Iowa Medical Society to ACUTE CARE, INC. on September 28, 1995.

The Iowa Medical Society is recognized by the national Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) as an accrediting body for intrastate providers of continuing medical education.

CME accreditation recognizes that the quality of an institution's educational efforts meet certain criteria established by the state medical society and the ACCME. CME programs provide opportunity for physicians to acquire new skills and knowledge to maintain competence in their fields and to assure high quality medical care for their patients.

As an accredited institution, the CME programs developed and sponsored by ACUTE CARE, INC. are eligible for Category I credit toward the American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award. Physicians may voluntarily apply for the Award following completion of 150 hours in participation of various CME endeavors over a three year period. Of these 150 hours, 60 hours of Category I credit are required. In Iowa, 20 hours of Category I CME are also required as a condition for license renewal under rules and regulations established by the State Board of Medical Examiners.

The ACUTE CARE, INC. management team sought out the challenge of gaining CME accreditation as part of a comprehensive commitment to meeting the needs of associated physicians and facilities. ACUTE CARE, INC. is the first private physician group to achieve this distinction in Iowa. The application process involved a year of research, policy formulation and composition. ACUTE CARE, INC's management staff met on two occasions with an evaluation team from the Iowa Medical Society. The IMS team also visited ACI Iowa Communication Network presentation on thrombolyic therapy. The counsel and advice of these individuals helped influence the content of the application and the core policies for the ACI education effort.

ACUTE CARE, INC. was optimally positioned to reap substantial benefits from this process. As the education effort was relatively new to the company, the application and policies of the Medical Society were used as templates to establish an ideal structure for the provision of continuing education for physicians. We believe this offered the opportunity to establish a foundation of proven, effective policies and procedures for the education department.

We believe that a life-long learning process is integral to the effective practice of medicine. Accreditation allows ACI to directly affect the content of education available to the medical professional. The organization is committed to meeting the professional educational needs of physicians and allied health professionals throughout the Midwest. ACUTE CARE, INC. is planning a continuing series of educational opportunities tailored to the practice of emergency medicine and primary care.

Please feel free to contact us at 800.729.7813 or e-mail Chris Perrin, Director of Education at ChrisP@acutecare.com with your ideas for suitable programming.