How to Offer CME Credits: Requirements, Accreditation, and Course Setup

Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits are essential for physicians to maintain their licenses and stay current with medical advancements. This guide will cover how to offer CME credits while covering topics like accreditation, course creation, delivery, and credit tracking. 

By offering CME credits, organizations increase their visibility, credibility, and authority as key leaders and resources within their specific medical fields while supporting broader membership growth strategies. 

Simplify CME course planning with CE Credit Claiming Software; manage accreditation, CE credit claiming, and attendee tracking in one place. 

What Are CME Credits? 

CME credits are designed to maintain, develop, or enhance clinicians’ knowledge and clinical skills.  The American Medical Association (AMA) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) are among the governing bodies that oversee CME credits.  

AMA PRA Category 1 vs Category 2 CME Credits 

There are two main types of CME credits: 

Category 1 Credits: The most widely accepted and recognized. Physicians earn them by attending courses or activities accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). 

Category 2 Credits: Self-reported by physicians for educational activities that don’t meet Category 1 requirements, like independent study, journal reading, or informal teaching. 

How Physicians Earn CME Credits 

Physicians must manage their CME portfolio to meet strict state and board certification requirements. Credits can be earned online, in person, and through a submission review process.  

The most common way to earn CME credits is by attending courses, conferences, or enduring materials provided by an ACCME-accredited organization, earning Category 1 credit.  

Clinicians can also earn credits by taking online courses, reading medical journals, or through other relevant online activities.  

For courses that don’t fall under Category 1, clinicians can submit a category 2 CME credit for review by completing self-directed learning, such as reading relevant medical textbooks, completing an independent study, or teaching informal classes.  

It’s crucial to be aware of your state’s licensing board mandates, which dictate the total number of required credits and may specify credits related to certain topics.  

Accreditation Requirements and Becoming a CME Provider 

To provide CME credits, content must meet ACCME Accreditation Requirements: 

Eligibility Requirements 

To be eligible for CME credits, content must cover three requirements:  

• Practice Gaps: Content must address measured differences between current practice and optimal, evidence-based performance. 

• Balanced, Evidence-Based Content: All educational material must be clinically sound, objective, and supported by current scientific evidence. 

• No Commercial Influence: The activity must be free from the control companies that produce, market, or sell healthcare products.  

Application Process & Timelines 

The application process to become an accredited CME provider is structured and typically involves several phases. 

• Submission Timelines: Applications have strict submission deadlines, often occurring only once or twice a year. Check specific cycle dates with the ACCME or your state’s medical society. 

• Required Documentation: This includes detailed organization information, financial disclosures, and evidence demonstrating a commitment to the accreditation criteria 

• Review Cycles: The review process can take several months and involvesan initial staff review, a comprehensive review by the Accreditation Review Committee, and a final decision. 

• Conditional Approvals: Initial accreditation is sometimes granted with specific requirements or improvements the provider must address within a designated period to maintain approval. 

Responsibilities After Approval 

Once approved, the accredited provider is responsible for maintaining the integrity and compliance of all CME activities. 

• Disclosures: Providers must ensure all relevant financial relationships between faculty, planners, and ineligible companies are identified, mitigated, and disclosed to learners before the activity begins. 

• Certificates: The provider is responsible for accurately issuing AMA PRA Category 1 Credit certificates to participants upon successful completion and evaluation of the activity. 

• Reporting Requirements: Providers must submit annual reports and performance data to the accrediting body (e.g., ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System, or PARS) to document compliance, activity volume, and evaluation results. 

Developing and Delivering CME Courses Effectively 

Instructors must follow several steps to deliver a course that qualifies for CME credit.  

Build a Compliant CME Learning Plan 

Your course starts with a learning plan. Courses need specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely learning goals that address identified practice gaps. Content should address gaps in medical knowledge and be based on balanced, evidence-based content, and course faculty need to have demonstrated medical expertise in the area, while also disclosing relevant financial relationships.   

Delivering the Activity 

Courses can be delivered virtually, in a hybrid format, or in person. Event Management Software can simplify planning for all formats. Consider incorporating interactive features like live Q&A, polls, case studies, or breakout rooms to foster active participation and maximize learner engagement. 

Event management systems  

To ensure Category 1 Compliance, courses must strictly adhere to time limits, educational integrity, and commercial independence throughout course delivery.    

High-Demand CME Topics 

While many topics can be discussed, some of the most relevant CME topics addressurgent public health needs and medical technology breakthroughs. Some common CME topics that are in high demand, include:  

• Clinical Specialty Updates 

• Practice Management (e.g., billing, compliance) 

• Medical Teaching Skills 

• Coding & Reimbursement Changes 

• Mental Health and Physician Burnout Management 

• AI and Machine Learning in Diagnostics 

• Telemedicine and Virtual Care Best Practices 

How to Run a Successful CME Program 

Promoting CME Offerings 

CME credit providers can follow several best practices to ensure their class offerings are reaching intended audiences. Targeted marketing can help reach physicians who need the content most. By tailoring your messaging to highlight how a specific course addresses the “practice gaps” identified during planning, you demonstrate immediate clinical value to potential learners, making them more likely to prioritize your program. 

These best practices can promote your CME offerings:  

• Email: Use segmented lists to promote highly specific, relevant topics to physicians based on their specialty, past attendance, or stated needs.  

• LinkedIn Groups: Engage in professional specialty-specific groups by sharing case studies and relevant articles, positioning your organization as a resource rather than overtly promoting.  

• Partnerships: Collaborate with medical societies, hospital systems, or other trusted entities to co-promote or co-develop courses, leveraging their established audience. 

For proven strategies to promote content, consider this webinar on marketing education that drives growth. 

How to Measure Course Success 

After you’ve delivered your class, it’s important to solicit attendee feedback to refine your course for future presentation.  

• Participant Feedback: Collect evaluation data that specifically measures perception of content balance, whether the learning objectives were met, and what their intent to change practice is after completion. Measuring these outcomes helps demonstrate Learning ROI.  

• Outcome Improvement: Conduct follow-up assessments with clinicians at set periods after determining if the activity led to a measureable change in physician competence or performance.  

• Accreditation Reviewer Insights: Use feedback from internal or external accreditation reviewers to continually improve compliance, course design, and documentation standards for future activities. 

Tracking and Managing CME Credits 

Just as presenting the class is important, effective CME tracking is crucial for demonstrating course effectiveness and keeping physicians current on accreditation and licensure.  

Many courses are paired with CE Credit Claiming Software to make managing the entire process seamless. Software allows:  

Fast Credit Claiming: Attendees can quickly claim, view, and manage their continuing education credits by logging into the platform and locating their course or event.  

Customizable Library: A learning management system can help create a library of continuing medical education (CME) content for medical professionals to access worldwide. 

Personalized Web Portal: Clinicians can access a unique web portal to claim CME credits, take pre/post-tests, manage enduring materials, and more. 

Seamless syncing: With an LMS, your organization can sync ACCME PARS learner data with your medical organization’s AMS to reduce the administrative burden for annual reporting. 

After a course is complete, CE Credit Claiming Software also generates course completion certificates with the clinician’s name, the CME provider’s name, the activity title, and the precise AMA PRA Category 1 Credit amount earned. 

Begin Your CME Journey 

Organizations can successfully offer accredited Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits—thus boosting credibility and supporting physician licensing—by strictly adhering to ACCME requirements regarding balanced, evidence-based content, carefully managing the multi-phase application process, and utilizing specialized software for seamless credit tracking, compliance, and reporting. 

Simplify CME credit tracking and compliance with CE Credit Claiming Software.  

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