More than 12,000 physicians have signed a petition calling for the American Board of Internal Medicine to end "burdensome" and "costly" maintenance of certification requirements.
Aaron Goodman, MD, a hematologist and associate professor of medicine at UC San Diego Health, started the Change.org petition July 21.
The petition takes aim at the American Board of Internal Medicine's maintenance of certification program, which was originally developed to uphold medical practice standards and promote life-long learning.
"We firmly believe that the MOC program has become burdensome, costly and lacks evidence to support its effectiveness in improving patient care or physician competence," the petition reads.
Physicians are calling for the board to eliminate the maintenance of certification program "and adopt alternative, less burdensome methods of ensuring physician competence and continuous professional development."
The American Board of Internal Medicine's website says the program was created with input from thousands of physicians and has continued to evolve.
"There is compelling evidence showing that MOC improves value of care without sacrificing quality and that board-certified physicians command higher salaries," the board said.
Editor's note: Becker's has reached out to the American Board of Internal Medicine for comment on the petition and will update the article if more information becomes available.