WSR 16-01-106
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
(Podiatric Medical Board)
[Filed December 16, 2015, 4:30 p.m., effective October 1, 2017]
Effective Date of Rule: October 1, 2017.
Purpose: WAC 246-922-300 Podiatric continuing education required and 246-922-310 Categories of creditable podiatric continuing education activities, the podiatric medical board adopted amendments to change continuing medical education (CME) requirements for podiatric physicians and surgeons from fifty hours every two years to one hundred hours every two years. Current rules require all CME be directly related to the delivery of patient care. The amendments offer several new options to earn CME credits.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-922-300 and 246-922-310.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.22.005, 18.22.015, and 18.130.050.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 15-14-091 on June 29, 2015.
Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: The following changes were made to WAC 246-922-310:
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In subsection (1)(a), the board added the words "offered or sponsored" to the category 1 CME requirements to clarify that courses approved, offered, or sponsored by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) and its component societies and affiliates satisfy category 1 requirements. The board made this amendment because saying only courses approved by the APMA may inadvertently exclude courses offered or sponsored by the AMPA.
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In subsection (1)(b), the board added the words "such as" to a list of organizations whose courses in podiatric medicine satisfy category 1 CME requirements. This amendment was made because the list in the proposed rules did not include organizations such as the American Diabetes Association whose CME courses in diabetic foot care should satisfy category 1 CME requirements.
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In subsection (2), the board removed the words "nonaccredited sponsorship" from the category 2 requirements. This amendment was made because the proposed language may inadvertently limit credits received from accredited organizations.
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In subsection (2), the board replaced the words "podiatric medicine" with "healthcare delivery" to allow podiatric physicians and surgeons to earn category 2 CME credits while participating in activities not directly related to podiatric medicine. This change was made because category 1 requirements need to be directly related to podiatric medicine, but the intent of the changes is to allow for podiatric physicians and surgeons to participate in category 2 and 3 activities not directly related to podiatric medicine.
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Throughout the section, the board added the words "or sponsored" and "or sponsoring" to clarify that CME offered or sponsored by the organizations in the section satisfy the requirements. These amendments were made because organizations may sponsor CME activities without actually administering or offering those activities.
These revisions are considered minimal with no material or substantive change to the adopted rules.
A final cost-benefit analysis is available by contacting Brett Cain, P.O. Box 47852, Olympia, WA 98504-7852, phone (360) 236-4766, fax (360) 236-2901, e-mail brett.cain@doh.wa.gov.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: August 6, 2015.
Suzanne M. Wilson, DPM
Chair
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 99-20-096, filed 10/5/99, effective 11/5/99)
WAC 246-922-300 Podiatric continuing education required.
(1) The ((podiatric medical)) board encourages ((licensees)) podiatric physicians and surgeons to deliver high-quality patient care. The board recognizes that continuing education programs designed to inform practitioners of recent developments within podiatric medicine and relative fields and review of various aspects of basic professional education and podiatric practice are beneficial to professional growth. The board ((encourages)) requires participation in podiatric continuing education as a mechanism to maintain and enhance competence.
(((1) Fifty contact hours of scientific podiatric continuing education is required every two years when the license is renewed to maintain a current license as provided in chapter 246-12 WAC, Part 7.
Five credit hours may be granted for one hour of course instruction. A maximum of ten hours may be claimed per reporting period.
(2) Approved courses shall be scientific in nature designed to provide information and enhancement of current knowledge of the mechanisms of disease and treatment, which may include applicable clinical information.
(a) Serving as a resident in an approved post-graduate residency training program shall satisfy the continuing education credit for the reporting period.
(b) Continuing education activities which do not affect the delivery of patient care, (e.g., marketing and billing), may not be claimed for continuing education credit.)) (2) A podiatric physician and surgeon must complete one hundred hours of continuing education every two years and comply with chapter 246-12 WAC, Part 7 and WAC 246-922-310.
(3) To satisfy the continuing medical education requirements identified in subsection (2) of this section, a podiatric physician and surgeon may:
(a) Serve as a resident in an approved postgraduate residency training program; or
(b) Certify or recertify within the previous four years with a specialty board.
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 99-20-096, filed 10/5/99, effective 11/5/99)
WAC 246-922-310 Categories of creditable podiatric continuing education activities.
((The following categories of creditable podiatric continuing education activities sponsored by the following organizations are approved by the board. The credits must be earned in the twenty-four month period preceding the licensee's reporting period. One contact hour is defined as a typical fifty-minute classroom instructional session or its equivalent.
(1) Scientific courses or seminars approved by the American Podiatric Medical Association and its component societies and affiliated and related organizations.
(2) Scientific courses or seminars offered by accredited, licensed, or otherwise approved hospitals, colleges, and universities and their associated foundations and institutes offering continuing education programs in podiatric medicine.
(3) Scientific courses or seminars offered by recognized nonpodiatric medical and health-care related societies (e.g., the American Medical Association, the American Physical Therapy Association) offering continuing education programs related to podiatric medicine.
(4) Scientific courses or seminars offered by other nonprofit organizations, other proprietary organizations, and individuals offering continuing education in podiatric medicine.
(5) A post-graduate residency training program accredited by the council on podiatric medical education.)) To meet the requirements of WAC 246-922-300, a podiatric physician and surgeon shall earn continuing medical education in the following board-approved categories:
(1) Category 1 - A minimum of fifty hours; however, all one hundred credit hours may be earned in this category. Category 1 activities include:
(a) Scientific courses or seminars approved, offered, or sponsored by the American Podiatric Medical Association and its component societies and affiliated and related organizations; and
(b) Scientific courses or seminars offered or sponsored by entities such as the American Medical Association, the American Osteopathic Association, the American Heart Association, or the American Physical Therapy Association when offering or sponsoring continuing education programs related to podiatric medicine.
(2) Category 2 - A maximum of fifty hours. Category 2 activities include courses or seminars related to health care delivery offered or sponsored by entities such as nonprofit organizations, other proprietary organizations, and individuals when offering or sponsoring continuing education in health care delivery.
(3) Category 3 - A maximum of fifty hours. Category 3 credit hours and activities include:
(a) Up to twenty hours through teaching, lecturing, and publishing in a peer-reviewed, scientific journal or textbook;
(b) Up to twenty hours through online study and programs;
(c) Up to twenty hours through self-study including, but not limited to, specialty board examination preparation, reading papers and publications, or viewing or attending exhibits; and
(d) Up to thirty hours for participation on a staff committee for quality of care or utilization review in a health care institution or government agency, such as serving on a hospital peer-review committee or serving as a board member on the podiatric medical board.
(4) One contact hour is defined as a typical fifty-minute classroom instructional session or its equivalent.
(5) The board will not give prior approval for any continuing medical education. The board will accept any continuing education that reasonably falls within these regulations and relies upon the integrity of each individual podiatric physician and surgeon to comply with these requirements.