ADA CERP Provider Newsletter Summer 2007 Articles
Call for Written Comments: Proposed Change to the Eligibility Criteria of the ADA CERP Recognition Standards & Procedures At its April 2007 meeting, the ADA Council on Dental Education and Licensure (CDEL) considered a request from the ADA Board to pursue mutual recognition between ADA CERP and the Academy of General Dentistry’s Program Approval for Continuing Education (AGD PACE). CDEL also reviewed a proposal from the Board to further align the two programs by revising the CERP recognition standards. CDEL and its CERP Committee are requesting feedback from communities of interest on the proposal to delete the following statement from the eligibility section of the standards: “The ADA CERP does not recognize individual instructors or authors.” Written comments from ADA CERP recognized providers and other parties with an interest in the program are requested by September 15, 2007. Comments will be considered by the Council at its fall meeting. For information about the proposed change and to submit comments, visit the CERP page on the ADA web site. Category changes for online CE course listings—ALERT Several important changes will be made to the online CE course listings on ADA.org in the next few months. These changes are being made as part of the ADA’s initiative to assist dental professionals to develop individualized programs for lifelong learning. The ADA believes that the online listing of CERP Recognized Providers’ courses provides a vital resource for those pursuing continuing professional development. The changes to the online listing program will help integrate the listings with the lifelong learning self-assessment tool being developed, and will encourage more dentists and allied professionals to view the listings. As a first step, the ADA is updating the subject categories for searching the online CE course listings. Beginning in August, a revised set of topical categories will be implemented which will include 10 new categories. The revised categories are designed to reflect changes in the practice of dentistry. Along with the addition of the new categories, two existing categories, “operative dentistry” and “general dentistry” will be eliminated, and several categories will be renamed. Existing course listings will be automatically transitioned to the new categories during the first week of August. In most cases, this will be a straightforward process as the majority of categories will not change significantly. However, there are two important exceptions that providers should note. Courses currently listed in the category of “operative dentistry” will be moved to the new topical category of “restorative dentistry.” Courses in the “general dentistry” category will need to be reassigned to new categories by the providers before the old category is eliminated on October 1, 2007. All CERP providers using the online listing service are asked to review their listings between August 8 and September 15 to ensure that they are categorized appropriately. Providers should make any category reassignments by September 15. It is essential for providers with course listings in the “general dentistry” category to reassign these courses to new categories by that date. Any courses remaining in the “general dentistry” category after October 1 will be dropped from the database. The next phase involves the launch of a pilot self-assessment tool for lifelong learning. ADA members will be asked to complete a questionnaire designed to help them identify their professional goals and educational needs. Each member completing the questionnaire will receive an individualized profile that will include links to the online course listing, with the new topical categories prioritized by the member’s interests. If the pilot program is a success and the lifelong learning project launched, it is anticipated that the CERP Recognized Provider course listings will see a significant increase in traffic. Providers not currently using the online listing service should consider taking advantage of this free marketing opportunity. See the article later in this newsletter for information on how to participate in the listing service. Abbreviated Application for Continued Recognition—NEW! ADA CERP continues to streamline its operations and improve the application process. At its spring 2007 meeting, the ADA’s Council on Dental Education and Licensure approved the implementation of an abbreviated application form for continued CERP recognition. Beginning in 2007, providers granted 3- or 4-year terms of recognition by demonstrating substantial compliance with ADA CERP Standards will be able to complete an abbreviated application at the time of their next review. The abbreviated application form for continued recognition contains 70% fewer questions than the full application. Providers eligible to complete the shorter form will be notified by ADA CERP approximately 9 months before their current terms expire. Providers will receive an electronic file of the abbreviated application form and 4 sets of tabs for organizing application materials. Providers submitting abbreviated applications for one recognition period will be required to complete the full application for continued recognition at the time of their next review. Status of Proposed Change to Standard V. Commercial or Promotional Conflict of Interest In 2006, the Council on Dental Education and Licensure circulated among the communities of interest a proposed revision to the ADA CERP Recognition Standards & Procedures that would allow for product training as continuing education. Comments received from the dental industry were supportive of the proposed changes, although some observed that CE credit is not necessary for product training. Other providers were not in support of the changes. Specifically, comments received from the agencies of the American Dental Association, including the Board of Trustees, were opposed to the proposed changes, citing potential challenges in writing and enforcing clear policies that would ensure product training programs free from commercialism. Without consensus for the proposed change, the Council maintained the existing Standard which is designed to separate commercial or promotional content from continuing education activities through several mechanisms. ADA CERP Recognized Providers must ensure that (1) no products or commercial services are marketed or promoted within continuing education activities; (2) balanced views of all therapeutic options are presented; and (3) all commercial relationships that the provider and faculty may have the commercial interests are fully disclosed to participants. 2007 Program Participation UPDATE At its spring 2007 meeting, the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (CERP) Committee acted on 55 ADA CERP applications, 2 requests for reconsideration and 8 progress reports. The Committee granted recognition or continued recognition to 50 continuing education providers. The ADA CERP now recognizes 355 providers of continuing education. The current distribution of ADA CERP recognized providers by organizational type is listed in the chart below:
* Component societies recognized through EAP are not counted in the total number of nationally approved providers in the first table. Congratulations to the following providers that were awarded four-year terms of recognition in spring 2007: View the complete List of ADA CERP Recognized Providers on ADA.org In an effort to identify areas where providers have the most difficulty demonstrating compliance with the ADA CERP Recognition Standards & Procedures, the CERP Committee reviewed decision reports for the last 3 application periods and tallied the number of citations in each Standard. Decision reports cite the areas of a provider’s application for recognition which the CERP Committee believes are not in full compliance with the Standards. In the decision reports from the Spring 2006, Fall 2006 and Spring 2007 decision cycles, Standard XI. Publicity was the area most frequently cited as needing improvement. Sixty-five percent of the providers reviewed during this period were notified that they will need to demonstrate improvements in their publicity practices at the time of their next review. Providers are encouraged to review the Standard on Publicity carefully to ensure that publicity pieces for CE activities consistently include the required elements that are listed in Standard XI. Significant numbers of providers in the last 3 review periods were advised of the need to demonstrate improvements in several other standard areas as well, as shown in the table below:
Consistent with efforts to continually improve continuing dental education, CERP Recognized Providers are encouraged to periodically review their practices to identify areas for improvement. When preparing applications for continued recognition, providers may want to focus special attention on the areas listed above to identify ways in which to improve compliance with these Standards. Providers should also be sure that documentation submitted with the application is complete and consistently demonstrates compliance. ADA CERP will continue to monitor compliance trends. The CERP Committee plans to use this data to develop additional resources for providers on best practices for compliance with individual Standards. Spring 2007 Applicants Evaluation Survey Results During each recognition decision cycle, ADA CERP asks providers to evaluate several aspects of the application process. Data collected is used by the CERP Committee to assess CERP processes and identify needed improvements. A total of 31 providers applying for recognition in the spring 2007 cycle (54% of the applicants) completed an evaluation form. Of the 31 applicants that completed the evaluation form, 57% said it was the first time they had completed the application. Respondents to the survey were asked to indicate their level of agreement with a series of seven statements related to different parts of the CERP application process. The response choices were: Strongly Agree, Agree, No Opinion, Disagree, and Strongly Disagree. Overall, high levels of agreement were evident for all seven statements, though the strength varied between statements:
When providers were asked if they would "be able to complete Future CERP applications electronically by entering information into a stand alone document sent and returned via the Internet," 74.2% replied "Yes" and another 22.6% said "Maybe." When asked to estimate how many hours were spent completing the CERP application, the answers were well dispersed. About a quarter of respondents reported it took 10 to 20 hours (25.8%) and another quarter said it took 31 to 40 hours (25.8%). Equal percentages of respondents reported that it took less than 10 hours (16.1%) and 21 to 30 hours (16.1%). About one out of every ten respondents indicated it took more than 50 hours (9.7%) to complete the application, whereas a smaller percent reported it took 41 to 50 hours (6.5%). Redundancy in the CERP application was noticed by less than half of responding providers, as 41.9% answered "Yes" to the question "Did the CERP application ask for the same information more than once?" Less than one-third of respondents (29.0%) indicated that they had to contact CERP staff for help in completing the application. General Information for ADA CERP Providers Use of CERP Logo CERP Providers CE Course Listings on ADA.org If you wish to post information about your courses on www.ADA.org and do not currently have a user ID and password to add and edit course listings online, or if you have forgotten your ID or password, email the ADA CERP program assistant at hendricksk@ada.org. Please include the name of the recognized provider and the name of the person responsible for entering course listings. Reporting Provider Changes Substantive changes to a provider’s CE program must be reported to ADA CERP in writing. Substantive changes, as defined by the ADA CERP Policy Statement on Reporting Substantive Changes, may include, but are not limited to: changes to the provider’s ownership, legal status, or form of control; changes in the CE program’s sources of financial support; or the introduction of a new educational method. Please refer to the ADA CERP Recognition Standards & Procedures for more information on reporting substantive changes. Deadline for Submitting Applications and Progress Reports January 11, 2008 will be the deadline for submission of applications and progress reports for the spring 2008 decision cycle. Current providers whose recognition period ends June 2008 will receive application packets for continued recognition in early August 2007. Current versions of the ADA CERP Recognition Standards and Procedures, policies and guidelines, application forms, and other resources for providers are available on the ADA ADA CERP 2007 Program Fees
The CERP Committee has established a process whereby recognized providers that are due to submit applications for continued recognition may request an extension of the application deadline. Providers requesting consideration for an extension must submit a request in writing stating the reasons why the provider is unable to meet the established deadline, and submit a fee of $210. Requests for extension will be reviewed by the CERP Committee. If approved, the provider’s term of recognition will be extended until the next decision cycle. Deadline extensions will be considered for applications for continued recognition only. No deadline extensions will be granted for Progress Reports. ADA CERP now provides pre-printed tabs to organize applications for recognition and continued recognition. The tabs are labeled to correspond to each section of the application, and include checklists of the information and documentation required for each section. Providers who are due to submit applications for continued recognition will receive 4 sets of tabs approximately 6 months prior to the submission deadline for that decision cycle. New applicants should request tabs by contacting ADA CERP staff at hendricksk@ada.org or at 800-621-8099 ext. 2869. ADA CERP Resources and Documents ADA CERP staff are available to assist providers with questions about the application process, progress reports, ADA CERP policies and other aspects of the recognition program. Please contact the ADA CERP program assistant, Ms. Kim Hendricks at 800-621-8099, x2869 or hendricksk@ada.org. Many resources to support CE providers are currently available on the ADA website or by contacting ADA CERP staff:
Available on request from the ADA CERP staff:
Comments, Suggestions, or Questions CDEL/ADA CERP Leadership Dr. Stephen K. Young Dr. Denis (Chip) Simon ADA CERP Staff: Ms. Karen M. Hart Ms. Mary Borysewicz Ms. Kimberly A. Hendricks American Dental Association—ADA CERP
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