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Continuing Medical Education Requirements for Licensees

Licensure Requirement for Physicians and Physician Assistants

  • Twenty-five (25) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™, AOA Category 1-A credits or equivalent annually (calendar year).
  • Credits must be earned Jan. 1 - Dec. 31 of each year.
  • Licensees are responsible for being familiar with and reading the Board rules Chapter 540-X-14 concerning CME.

Exemptions from Licensure Requirement

You are exempt from the CME requirement if you:

  • Do not reside in Alabama and do not practice in Alabama (physicians only).
  • Are retired and have received a retirement waiver from the Board (if you are retired but do not have a waiver, you are still subject to the CME requirement) (physicians only).
  • Received your initial license this calendar year.
  • Have applied for and received from the Board a disability waiver.
  • Are enrolled or were enrolled in a residency training program or clinical fellowship program during any part of this calendar year (physicians only).
  • Are a member of any branch of the armed services of the United States and are deployed for military service; the exemption is for the calendar year in which you are deployed.

Additional Requirement for Collaborative and Supervisory Practices

In 2021, the Board added a requirement for collaborating/supervising physicians and assistants to physicians to obtain continuing medical education (CME) prescribed by the Board. Physicians who only act as covering physicians are not required to obtain this CME. 

For those in a current collaborative or supervisory practice, the effective date for compliance was Jan. 1, 2024.  The Board has extended the effective date to Jan. 1, 2025.

Additionally, because many practitioners have already earned this CME, the look-back period has been extended from 48 months to 60 months.

For those who are not in a collaborative or supervisory practice as of Jan. 1, 2025, the CME may be obtained within twelve months of obtaining a new collaborative or supervisory practice.

The Board provides online courses to meet these requirements.  Those courses are accessed through the Board-Sponsored Online Courses page.

NOTE: For physicians who simultaneously collaborate with nurse practitioners and supervise PAs, one or the other course will suffice for compliance. They do not have to take both courses.

Additional Requirement for All Existing and New Licensees

Beginning in 2025, all actively licensed physicians, physician assistants, and anesthesiologist assistants are required to complete the two-hour on-demand course provided to Alabama licenses for free by PBI Education entitled "Navigating Professional Boundaries in Medicine." The course must be completed by December 31, 2025. 

New licensees will be required to complete the course within twelve months of licensure.

Please see our Navigating Professional Boundaries in Medicine webpage for more information and a link to the course (sign in is required). 

Maintenance of Records

  • Licensees are required to maintain personal CME records for three years following the year in which the CME was earned.
  • Documentation is subject to examination by the Board upon request.
  • Adequate documentation consists of certificates of attendance, completion certificates, proof of registration, or similar documentation issued by the organization or entity sponsoring or conducting the continuing medical education program.
  • The Physician Recognition Award alone is not sufficient documentation.
  • Do not send your CME certificates with your renewal application; you will be informed if the Board wishes to examine your documentation.
  • Licensees are encouraged to use the upcoming CME documentation upload feature at the Licensee Gateway.

Retirement Waiver from Basic Requirement

  • If you are retired from medicine and do not practice medicine in any form, including the prescribing of any drugs, legend or controlled, you may request an exemption from the CME requirement.
  • If you choose to renew your license but wish to request the retirement exemption, you should print and fill out the Request for Retirement Waiver and return it to the Board by email or by mail.
  • Your license status will change from "Active" to "Active with Restriction Due to Retirement." This is not a disciplinary action and is not reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank, nor is it published in the Board's Newsletter.
  • If at a later date you wish to re-enter the practice of medicine, you should request removal of the waiver status and submit proof of having met the continuing medical education requirement for the preceding 12 months.

Requirement for ACSCs (MD/DO) and QACSCs (CRNP/CNM/PA)

All (Q)ACSC holders must ensure that they provide the best possible care to their patients by participating in CME activities specific to the prescribing of controlled drugs.

Board and Commission rules require (Q)ACSC holders to obtain certain CME credits for renewal. QACSC holders must also obtain certain credits before applying for an initial registration.

The Licensee Gateway will soon feature a CME documentation upload that our (Q)ACSC holders can use as a repository. We urge you to take advantage of this feature once available.

Requirement for ACSCs (MD/DO) 

Two (2) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ or equivalent every two years in the areas of:

  • Controlled substance prescribing practices,
  • Recognizing signs of the abuse or misuse of controlled substances, or
  • Controlled substance prescribing for chronic pain management.

Any program in these areas is acceptable to meet the CME credits required of all ACSC holders every two years.  You do not need to obtain pre-approval of the courses you choose. 

NOTICE: Beginning with ACSC renewals for 2024, applicants must attest that they have obtained the required CME.

Requirement for QACSCs (CRNP/CNM/PA)

  • Initial QACSC:
    • Complete within 12 months preceding the application twelve AMA PRA Category 1 credits that include the course “Prescribing and Pharmacology of Controlled Drugs: Current Issues and Strategies for Successful Patient Care" (8 credits) and four credits through a Board-approved course relating to advanced pharmacology and prescribing trends.
  • QACSC Renewal:

FAQ

FAQ—Licensure Requirement

Credit for programs designated to confer AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ sponsored or conducted by entities accredited by the Medical Association of the State of Alabama or by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor or conduct continuing medical education programs that confer AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. 

Credit for programs desitnated to confer AOA Category 1-A credits sponsored or conducted by entities accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to sponsor or conduct continuing medical educaion programs that congfer AOA Categoary 1-A credits.

The following courses have been deemed by the Board and Commission to be equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™:

  • Programs of continuing medical education designated as Category 1-A which are sponsored or conducted by organizations or entities accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to sponsor or conduct Category 1-A Continuing Medical Education for osteopathic physicians.
  • Programs of continuing medical education designated as a "prescribed hour" which are sponsored or conducted by organizations or entities accredited by the American Academy of Family Physicians to sponsor or conduct "prescribed hours" of continuing medical education.
  • Programs of continuing medical education designated as "cognates" which are sponsored or conducted by organizations or entities which are accredited by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology to sponsor or conduct approved cognates on obstetrical and gynecologic related subjects.
  • Documented attendance at grand rounds.
  • Successful completion of an ABMS board certification or MoC process (credit accrues to the year in which board certification or MoC is completed; date-specific certificates are required).
  • Programs of continuing medical education designated as such by the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners.

The American Medical Association’s Physician's Recognition Award and credit system allows claiming AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ directly from the AMA for the following activities, if accomplished in the last 6 years:

  • Achieving American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) member board certification and Maintenance of Certification (MoC®)
  • Teaching a live activity certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™
  • Publishing articles
  • Preparing poster presentation(s)
  • Finishing a medically related advanced degree
  • Participating successfully in an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) accredited residency or fellowship program

Who Can Apply for Direct Credit to convert AMA PRA Category 1 credit:

  • Any physician who completed select activities that do not already award CME credit can use this application to claim credit directly from the AMA PRA Credit System.
  • Additionally, non-MD doctorate level professionals who have met the requirements of the American Board of Medical Genetics or the American Board of Radiology can use the Direct credit application to get a Certificate of Participation.
  • You do not need to be an AMA member to apply for Direct Credit.

Some PALS, ACLS and ATLS courses are not accredited to confer Category 1 or 1-A credit:

  • Teaching medical students.
  • Acting as preceptor for nurses or other healthcare providers.
  • Some board certification exam review courses.
  • Journal quizzes that are not turned in for credit.
  • Many Botox, laser, and aesthetic procedure workshops are not accredited.

If in doubt, check with the provider of the activity before taking the course.

A random audit of physicians and assistants to physicians is completed annually. Chosen licensees will receive a letter requesting documentation of having met the requirement or of exemption. Do not send CME documentation to the Board unless you have been requested to do so; however, licensees are encouraged to use the upcoming repository feature at the Licensee Gateway to save their certificates.

The Board has the authority to file formal charges with the Medical Licensure Commission for a rules violation and to seek penalties such as reprimands and fines.  For assistants to physicians, the Board has the authority to order a hearing and seek penalties such as reprimands and fines.  Discipline for not having met the CME requirements is public, is reportable to the National Practitioner Data Bank and Federation of State Medical Boards, is listed in the Board/Commission Medical Digest and web site, and is available through the web site licensee search. Disciplinary actions are permanently attached to a licensee's file.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the American Osteopathic Association, and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama accredit providers to confer AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or AOA Category 1-A credit.

FAQ—ACSC

Yes. ACSC holders who are otherwise exempt from the CME requirement (residents, fellows, initial licensure year, military service) must still obtain the two credits every two years.

No. You do not need to obtain pre-approval from the Board for the course you choose. Just be sure the course confers AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and is in one of the required areas. The course may be live, through the internet or any other method as long as the activity confers AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. It does not have to be obtained from a CME activity in Alabama.

Yes. All physicians holding an ACSC are subject to the new CME requirement. The CME can be in the areas of prescribing controlled substances generally and recognizing signs of abuse and misuse. Activities in specific areas such as the use of controlled substances in the treatment of ADD or mental disorders, for example, would meet the requirement.

Keep with your certificate a copy of the conference agenda that shows the controlled substances topic(s) and the time(s) those topics were covered.

No.

The two-year period is determined by calendar year. If you received your ACSC in July 2019, for example, you have until Dec. 31, 2020, to obtain the two credits.

FAQ—QACSC

The eight-hour course, “Prescribing Controlled Drugs; Critical Issues and Common Pitfalls,” is presented by the Board and the Medical Association of the State of Alabama. Please see the Medical Association’s education web page.

The four-hour course(s) must be approved by the Board. The approved courses are listed here.

No. As a QACSC holder, you have an existing CME requirement to which you must adhere (see Rules 540-X-12- .05(3) and 540-X-18-.05(2)).