The National Committee for Quality Assurance and the American Board of Internal Medicine may have taken a major step toward automating physicians' offices.
The ABIM, Philadelphia, has agreed to build physician practice standards developed by the NCQA, Washington, into the certification renewal standards for board-certified internists.
The ABIM has certified 180,000 internists, and about 12,000 of those internists apply for "maintenance of certification" each year.
ABIM-certified internists must apply to maintain their certification every 10 years, according to the NCQA.