The Value of Board Recertification Among Physicians

An ongoing challenge among healthcare certifying organizations is identifying an effective manner of evaluating a physician's competency. The medical field is constantly changing, with new technology, research and pharmacology available, and physicians must be kept up to date in order to properly care for their patients. Maintenance of certification and specifically, recertification exams, are used to verify that a high standard of care is consistently met across all medical specialties. However, different countries have different structures in place to ensure physicians are kept abreast of the latest medical knowledge. For instance, American physicians must recertify themselves every ten years by passing a standardized exam to maintain their credentials. In comparison, Canadian physicians are not required to pass a formal examination. This contrast puts into question the value of the recertification exam in medical professional development programs. We outline the rectification situation in both Canada and the US and recommend MOC programs similar to Canada's, which does not require a recertification examination.