Washington MD CME requirements

At a glance: MD (medical doctor)

Hours

200 hours every 4 years

Renewal cycle

Every 4 years

Deadline

Your birthday, every two years; the 200 hours are reported at every second renewal (every four years)

Required topics

3

Hours carry over

No

First renewal

Confirm with your Board The Commission's CME FAQ (DOH 657-127, dated 2012) says you start accumulating hours at your first renewal and attest to 200 hours every four years, so no general hours are reported at the first renewal. The FAQ is old; confirm your first reporting date with the Commission. The one-time suicide prevention and opioid prescribing trainings are due by the end of your first full CE reporting period after initial licensure.

Reporting

You sign a declaration of compliance when you report CME at renewal (WAC 246-12-180). Up to 25 percent of practitioners are audited at random after renewal; you have 60 days to send documentation such as certificates or transcripts, or face possible discipline (WAC 246-12-190, 246-12-200). Do not send documents unless asked. Keep records of attendance and the learning for four years (WAC 246-12-200). Failure to report CME makes the renewal invalid (Commission FAQ).

Board

Washington Medical Commission

WAC 246-919-990 and 246-919-421: physician licenses renew every two years on your birthday (WAC 246-12-030). WAC 246-919-430(1): 200 hours of CME every four years; the Commission's CME FAQ says you attest to the 200 hours every four years, at the time of renewal, and that hours count from your first renewal through your second renewal cycle. Instead of the 200 hours you may hold a current AMA Physician's Recognition Award in at least two of the four years before renewal, become ABMS-certified in those four years, or meet maintenance of certification requirements of an ABMS member board at renewal (WAC 246-919-430(2)-(4)). Excess hours do not carry forward (WAC 246-12-230).

Deadline

In Washington, the date depends on your license: your birthday, every two years; the 200 hours are reported at every second renewal (every four years).

Find your Washington MD deadline and add it to your calendar

Required topics

• Suicide assessment, treatment, and management6 hours · Once · Every licensee
  WAC 246-919-435 and RCW 43.70.442: a one-time training of at least six hours, from the Department of Health's model list, due by the end of your first full CE reporting period after initial licensure. It counts toward the 200 hours. Physicians with only brief or limited patient contact, or none, are exempt, as are residents holding a limited license.
• Health equity (including implicit bias)2 hours · Every renewal · Every licensee
• Best practices in opioid prescribing and the opioid prescribing rules1 hour · Once · Only some physicians — see the rule note
  WAC 246-919-875: to prescribe an opioid in Washington, a physician licensed to prescribe opioids completes a one-time course of at least one hour on best practices in opioid prescribing or the Commission's opioid prescribing rules, by the end of the first full CE reporting period after initial licensure. It counts toward the 200 hours.

Credit that counts

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™WAC 246-919-460(1): Category I is a program recognized as Category I credit offered by an organization meeting ACCME standards (or those of the Washington State Medical Association). All 200 hours may be Category I.
• AAFP Prescribed credit Confirm with your BoardNot named in WAC 246-919-460. The AAFP is ACCME-accredited, so its activities may qualify as Category I, and Category II (non-accredited programs, up to 80 hours) would cover them otherwise. Confirm with the Commission if you rely on it for Category I.
• AOA Category 1-A Confirm with your BoardNot named in the MD rules. AOA-accredited programs that are not also AMA Category I appear to fall under Category II (non-accredited sponsorship), capped at 80 of the 200 hours; confirm with the Commission.