Support Vaccination Efforts for Healthcare Professionals; New JA-PARS Improvements; Save the Date: 2021 Leadership Summit

News

JOINT ACCREDITATION 2021 LEADERSHIP SUMMITTHE FUTURE OF EDUCATION: COLLABORATING & CONNECTING 

Mark your calendars for two days of collaborating and connecting at the 7th Annual Joint Accreditation Leadership Summit, to be held virtually on September 30October 1, 2021. The Summit will cover a variety of topics including how to incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion principles into your IPCE program, achieving Joint Accreditation with Commendation, the future of educational formats in a post-pandemic world, and more. We will also be reaching out to providers to share their experiences from the past year. Registration details and Summit information will be released on our Events webpage in the coming weeks.

NEW JA-PARS: MORE OPPORTUNITIES, STREAMLINED PROCESS 

We’re excited to give you another update about our new, improved Joint Accreditation Program and Activity Reporting System (JA-PARS), scheduled to launch later this summer. Reflecting feedback from providers and other stakeholders, the new version of JA-PARS will feature a modernized, user-friendly interface for activity and learner reporting.

Reporting Physician-Learner Data 

For those of you reporting physician-learner data, the new JA-PARS will offer more opportunities and a streamlined process:

• You’ll have the option to enter, track, and manage physician-learner data for all your activities, not only those registered for Maintenance of Certification (MOC)/Continuing Certification.
• We’ll provide a more streamlined process for entering physician-learner data by implementing improved learner matching, the ability to report CME and MOC/Continuing Certification participation in the same record, and reduced data entry in the web form.
• Data entry via the web form: For most physician-learners, you’ll only need to enter their first name, last name, month and day of birth (not year), and state of licensure to make a match.
• Access to a physician-learner matching application programming interface (API) will allow you to pre-validate learner-identification data prior to entering information about participation in CME and MOC/Continuing Certification. This process will reduce rejections by allowing you to correct the information prior to sending the completion to JA-PARS.
• We’ll provide a standard data-sharing permission statement as an option for you to use when seeking permission from your physician-learners to collect and report their data.

IPCE Activities, Credit Types, Dashboard, and More 

The new JA-PARS will offer many other new features, including:

• The ability to identify interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) activities, as well as any of the credit types included in Joint Accreditation.
• Functionality enabling you to search for an activity that includes pharmacist-learners using the Universal Activity Number (UAN), and to identify if the activity is a part of a pharmacy certificate program; if so, you will receive a link to continue the process outside of JA-PARS after you save the activity.
• A dashboard for your CE Program, enabling you to receive notifications about your program and activities, and see high-level statistics on your program.
• The ability to tag activities by commendation criteria, supporting your efforts to achieve Joint Accreditation with Commendation.

More Updates and Support 

We expect to launch the new version of JA-PARS in late summer. We want to do everything we can to help you take advantage of these opportunities. Watch your inbox in the coming weeks for updates and instructions. In the meantime, please continue to enter your activity and learner data as you usually do. Your data will be migrated into the new JA-PARS you will not need to reenter any data. For more information, visit our New JA-PARS webpage.

JOINT ACCREDITATION ENCOURAGES ACCREDITED PROVIDERS TO SUPPORT VACCINATION EFFORTS FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS AND TEAMS 

There has been an alarming resurgence in COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated people including healthcare professionals. Accredited interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) can be part of the solution. We encourage jointly accredited providers to leverage their educational infrastructure to ensure that healthcare professionals understand the importance of vaccination for themselves, their families, and their patients. Joint Accreditation supports the statement made by nearly 60 national healthcare organizations representing multiple professions urging healthcare professionals to get vaccinated. Read the full statement here.

“We are immensely proud of the IPCE community for rising to the challenge throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to provide critically needed education to healthcare professionals and teams. With the recent rise in COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated people including healthcare professionals, it’s increasingly important to continue to educate your learners about the vaccines. The IPCE community has demonstrated the power of education to make a positive difference during a public health crisisand we will continue to lead by example and educate our learners on the benefits and safety of vaccinating against COVID-19. By getting vaccinated and educating others, we can help protect the healthcare professionals, teams, patients, and families we all serve.” Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, FNAP, FAAN; Kate Regnier, MA, MBA; Dimitra Travlos, PharmD; Co-founders, Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education

Our COVID-19 resources page hosts information to help healthcare professionals confidently and safely administer the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as resources to support accredited providers develop and deliver education about the COVID-19 vaccines.

JOINT ACCREDITATION DATA REPORT: EMBRACING INNOVATION IN ACCREDITED CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR HEALTHCARE TEAMS  2020

We are pleased to release the Joint Accreditation Data Report: Embracing Innovation in Accredited Continuing Education for Healthcare Teams 2020, which includes data from a community of 113 jointly accredited organizations that offer healthcare professionals and teams an array of continuing education resources to promote high-quality, safe, and effective care for patients. Learn more here.

IPCE Education and Resources

STANDARDS RESOURCES TO SUPPORT YOUR TRANSITION 

We want to do everything we can to support your successful implementation of the new Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. Jointly accredited providers are expected to comply with the Standards that are applicable to their organizations by January 1, 2022. The following resources are available:

• Transition Checklist (PDF and Word)
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Toolkit for the Standards for Integrity and Independence
• “Changes to the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Continuing Medical Education” by Graham T. McMahon, MD, MMSc, published in JAMA. Subscription or purchase is required to access.
• Key Concepts in the Standards for Integrity and Independence: This course, available in ACCME Academy, introduces CME professionals to the key concepts of the new Standards. This course is a part of a broader curriculum in ACCME Academy titled, “Building Learner Trust with Accredited CE” and will feature additional courses surrounding the new Standards.

For more resources and information, visit our Standards resources webpage.

ARCHIVED WEBINAR: SUMMER PROVIDER UPDATE 

We held a webinar on June 10, 2021, to discuss important information about Joint Accreditation expectations and to build our interprofessional continuing education community of practice. View the archived webinar here.

WORKING GROUP INSIGHTS FROM THE ACCME 2021 MEETING 

One highlight of the ACCME 2021 Meeting this past spring was the introduction of a new longitudinal learning experienceWorking Groups. Proposed by meeting participants, the Working Groups were designed to facilitate collaboration to create tools and resources for the CE and interprofessional continuing education community. The ACCME, a co-founder of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education, is now collaborating with each Working Group to help them share the story of their journey and disseminate their final products. Read more about the Working Groups here.

Collaboration & Engagement

AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PAS ADOPTS STANDARDS FOR INTEGRITY AND INDEPENDENCE IN ACCREDITED CONTINUING EDUCATION 

We’re pleased to announce that the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) has adopted the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. In adopting the standards, AAPA joins Joint Accreditation and other accrediting bodies representing multiple health professions.

REGISTER FOR THE 2021 ANCC NCPD SUMMIT