Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education

The Accrediting Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) is the overseeing body for continuing medical education (CME) in the United States. The ACCME sets the standards for the accreditation of all providers of CME activities.

The ACCME's seven member organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the Association for Hospital Medical Education (AHME), the Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS), and the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S., Inc. (FSMB).

The ACCME's Mission is the identification, development, and promotion of standards for quality continuing medical education utilized by physicians in their maintenance of competence and incorporation of new knowledge to improve quality medical care for patients and their communities.

The ACCME fulfills its mission through a voluntary self-regulated system for accrediting CME providers and a peer-review process responsive to changes in medical education and the health care delivery system.

The primary responsibilities of the ACCME are to:


 * Serve as the body accrediting institutions and organizations offering continuing medical education.


 * Serve as the body recognizing institutions and organizations offering continuing medical education accreditation.


 * Develop criteria for evaluation of both educational programs and their activities by which ACCME and state accrediting bodies will accredit institutions and organizations and be responsible for assuring compliance with these standards.


 * Develop, or foster the development of, methods for measuring the effectiveness of continuing medical education and its accreditation, particularly in its relationship to supporting quality patient care and the continuum of medical education.


 * Recommend and initiate studies for improving the organization and processes of continuing medical education and its accreditation.


 * Review and assess developments in continuing medical education’s support of quality health.