Sustaining Care in Crisis: COVID-19’s Impact on US Physician Board Certification

Abstract

ABSTRACT One of the COVID-19 pandemic’s many strains on the United States (US) healthcare system has been its impact on the physician board certification process. Understanding this effect is critical to maintaining access to qualified medical care and upholding the benchmark of board certification. The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has shown that US annual first-time physician certifications fell from a total of 31696 physicians in 2019 to 23558 in 2020. A survey sent to all 22 primary specialty boards under the ABMS received received responses from 7 boards. Results suggest that 5426 of 11722 (46.3%) applicants to responding specialty boards had testing canceled or rescheduled because of COVID-19. One board reported 4147 (80.5%) of its applicants were affected, requiring 2.9 times the original number of exam dates. Four specialty boards chose to newly incorporate a virtual format, with 2274 (19.4%) of all candidates taking part in the novel format. While COVID-19 altered board examinations for many physicians in 2020, successes and failures in implementing new certification modalities may hint at future opportunities to maintain and improve the certification process for US physicians.