ACGME Case Log System is designed for the registered residents and fellow to log in their clinical experiences on an individual case basis. This data is used as a program performance indicator by the Review Committee
ACGME Case Logs - Access
ACGME A.D.S
Accreditation Data System (ADS) is the ACGME’s data collection system which comprises resident/fellow and faculty surveys and case logs. ADS is a web-based data collection software program
Survey
ACGME Survey is Residents/fellows are required to complete the survey on an annual basis, regardless of whether the program is scheduled for an accreditation site visit.
ACGME Case Log – System
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is an independent, not-for-profit organization led by physicians that monitors the educational standards essential for preparing physicians to deliver safe, high-quality medical care to all Americans.
It is firmly recommended that individual physicians and practitioners maintain a spreadsheet of their own cases. In contrast, newly graduated, pristine physicians are always required to have a copy of their ACGME case logs report ready to show to credentialing companies. But when it comes to credentialing companies in general, more details are needed about your patients, cases, etc. Some of this information includes, but isn’t limited to:
The statistical reports for graduates in the specialties listed below have been made public by the Review
Committee and are also available in the ACGME Accreditation Data System (ADS).
Graduate Statistics National Report Case Log
- Clearly detailed case and patient load files.
- The number, type, and prognosis of cases.
- In some cases, you can also be asked to provide case logs for all procedures completed in the past year.
ACGME Case Log
Within the Accreditation Data System or ADS, the ACGME Case Log System is designed for the registered residents and fellow to log in their clinical experiences on an individual case basis. This data is used as a program performance indicator by the Review Committee since they have access to the ACGME Case log report and are able to review the information logged in the Application by the residents and fellows.
How to access the ACGME Cases log systems?
Unlike the Journal of Graduate Medical Education, which now has open access and can be accessed on the JGME website, the ADS Case Log System can only be accessed by residents or fellows whose programs have granted them access to register and log in their operative experiences. Residents or fellows have access to the log system only while actively training with an ACGME accredited program.
However, for specialties and subspecialties programs that do not use the case log system, ADS launched a new tool for residents/fellows to retrieve their milestone evaluations and program-level aggregated results of their resident/fellowship survey reports. The Resident fellow portal also allows its users the ability to edit some of their personal information on their resident fellow portal account.
Guidelines for ACGME Case logging
Here Some Important ACGME Case Log Guidelines
✓ Different codes are assigned to different conditions that are being treated. Therefore, while filling in the log, the residents must ensure that they fill in the relevant information such as the patient’s personal information and the right CPT (Common Procedural Terminology) code.
✓ If the patient is being treated for the same condition more than once, then the resident physician must log that condition only once throughout the duration of the patient’s treatment. The residents must pick one primary CPT code for submission in the ACGME Case Logs app.
✓ In the matter of general surgery, if a patient is treated over time and different conditions arise, then the original case must be edited and modified rather than logging new cases.
✓ However, in the matter of orthopedic surgeries, to fully capture the complexities of a case, additional codes should be entered to capture the complexity of the case and for further review.
✓ Procedural experiences categorized as level 1 or level 2 must be logged in to the system by the residents. Procedures marked as level 1 include the resident either performing the primary functions during surgery or supervising and guiding another resident through key portions of the surgery. In level 2, the resident is scrubbed in and participates in the pre-operative assessment and planning and also assists a senior resident and may participate in opening or closing during the surgery.
✓ They mustn’t need to log if the procedure they participated in is on a lower level than either level 1 or 2.
✓ All procedures conducted in levels 1 and 2 are required to be supervised by a faculty member.
✓ Cases should be entered into the ACGME Case Log report System as soon as possible to ensure that the information is accurate and complete. The program director also suggested reviewing the logs quarterly to make sure that resident experience is accurately reflected.
✓ The program director should review the Minimums Report, in particular, to ensure that each resident is making appropriate progress towards meeting the minimum number of cases required in each key area for the program. A Minimums Report, set on the default setting, shows a table that lists all residents in the program and the number of cases for each resident in each defined category.
✓ The residents/fellow physicians must ensure the accurate and timely entry of cases into the Application. This is pertinent information for the Review Committee as it helps monitor the progress of the resident/fellow in developing competent surgical skills.
History of Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
The ACGME was established in 1981 based on the findings of the academic medical community that a graduate medical education accrediting body was required for specialty (residency) and subspeciality (fellowship) physician education and training after medical school.
This was because the academic medical community had found major inconsistencies in the standards of medical schools. At first, the focus was directed towards providing better education by having dedicated teachers and plenty of one-on-one experiences with patients. But when it came to the selection process, they believed that more focus should be given to the places these individuals received this training.
The ACGME is the main accreditor of graduate medical education programs in the US, and those seeking board certification by the American Board of Medical Specialities are required to complete a residency or fellowship under the ACGME-accredited program
Principles of ACGME
- More emphasis on practical knowledge than book knowledge.
- Although academic knowledge is of great importance, a proper physician requires good examination skills, good communication skills, professionalism, along a self-less responsibility towards the care and treatment of the patient.
- More emphasis on each resident/fellow’s education instead of providing education under the provision of service.
- Ensuring that the resident/fellow’s learning environment incorporates a patient-centric approach to their services by ensuring patient safety, quality assurance, and clinical outcomes.
- A Physician who is trained in an accredited program should feel assured that they are capable and ready to serve society after completing their training from an accredited program.
- That the professionalism inculcated during a residency program is just as important as academic knowledge.
- Finally, a physician must be left with having a true sense of vocation, a commitment to quality care and treatment, and an ever-lasting allegiance to the patients.
ACGME’s Mission Statement
- Improve upon the health care facilities.
- They are assessing the quality of the resident and fellow physicians’ education through the process of accreditation.
- It is improving the quality of teaching and protecting the interests of residents and fellow physicians. This is done by learning, researching, and evaluating professional practices.
- The achievement of the aforementioned means that the public benefits as the graduates of the accredited programs serve them adequately.
Vision Statement
Once the mission is achieved, ACGME wishes to aspire to build an Application of graduate medical education with a global reach –
- It has programs that are led by motivated physicians who act as role models and supervise the humanistic clinical, educational experience.
- A system in which residents and fellows can benefit from their motivated role models and can share their feedback through a specialized App.
- Build a Application that is based on evidence, is data-driven, and is defined by safety, professionalism, inclusion, diversity, and equity.
- Build a medical education system that delivers health care meeting local and regional community needs.
- An education system in which residents and fellows are able to demonstrate specialty-specific proficiency in medical care before the completion of the program.
- They are building a health care system that is accessible and puts emphasis on their safety by inculcating empathetic values amongst residents and fellow physicians.
- They are improving the health care system by assessing and evaluating the fellow or resident’s education qualification through the accreditation process.
- Finally, they aim to transform the graduate medical education system by inculcating in their residents and fellows the drive to strive to achieve mastery and by being altruistic throughout their medical careers by placing the needs of the people and communities before them.
Values
- Honesty and Integrity
- Accountability and transparency
- Engagement of stakeholders
- Leadership and collaboration
- Equity and fairness
- Diversity and Inclusion.
- Stewardship and service
- Excellence and innovation
ACGME’s strategic plan
ACGME’s strategic plan is to achieve the goals stated in its mission and vision statements.
★ Sustain Professionalism and Ethics- Collaborate with medical education institutes across the board to improve upon initiatives and promote qualities such as high ethical standards, altruism, and humanism. Also, work with regional and global medical institutes to promote health care policies that are able to enhance the medical healthcare experience amongst the public.
★ Prepare the professionals to meet the needs of the future- To cater to the current and future population’s health care needs while still trying to improve upon the healthcare system by working on the issue of healthcare disparities. Thus, hoping to improve patient experience and lower the cost of care. This can be achieved by constantly improving the education system, developing educational structures which are flexible and adaptable.
★ Enhancing the clinical learning environment – The ACGME’s initiatives and approaches should be grounded in evidence-based knowledge. This organization’s aim is to optimize the well-being of the physician, caregiver, and patients in the learning environment by addressing system, cultural and individual factors.
★ Pursue knowledge development in medical education- The design of the residency/fellowship programs should be thus that there is a strong commitment towards improvement and assessment of the accreditation for the development of competent graduate physicians who provide safe and high-quality patient care. This is done by assessing the existing education model, checking its effectiveness, and developing a medical education system that can disseminate information to a diverse population.
★ Harmonize the continuum of medical education- Establish a collaborative process across the continuum of physician education in order to achieve a compatible and mutually reinforcing accreditation system, which increases the value of education throughout undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education. Partnership with other international accreditors promotes a global collaborative community.
★ Enhance Inter-Professional Teamwork- Establishing collaborative initiatives with other accredited organizations to foster team spirit amongst physicians and prepare them for working as team members and acting as team leaders to improve the quality of healthcare.
★ Prepare the ACGME for the adaptability and flexibility required to implement the strategic plan.
What is Accreditation?
Cambridge Dictionary defines accreditation as “the fact of being officially recognized, accepted or approved of, or the act of officially recognizing, accepting, or approving of something.”
Accreditation demonstrates that graduate medical education programs meet the established standards for institutional, foundational, and advanced specialty education. The ACGME has set standards for effective training programs and monitors the accredited institutions and programs’ compliance with those standards.
The set requirements and their compliance by accredited institutions are assessed by a specialty-specific Review Committee which is made up of volunteer physician experts in the field, residents/fellows, and public representatives. There are in total 28 such Review committees.
Types of Committees
- Review Committee- It is further divided into three separate committees-
- Speciality Review Committee
- Transitional Year Review Committee
- Institutional Review Committee
They set accreditation standards, provide peer evaluation programs to assess the degree to which the programs or institutions comply with the educational requirements.
- Recognition Committee- The Osteopathic Principles Committee grants recognition to the osteopathic principles dimension of ACGME- accredited programs.
Why is accreditation important?
In a 2011 study conducted by Abdullah Alkhenzian and Charles Shaw called, “Impact of Accreditation on the quality of healthcare services: A Systematic Review of the literature,” the study found that subspeciality accreditation programs significantly improve the process of care provided by healthcare services as they improve upon the structure and organization of healthcare facilities. According to them, the studies also showed a significant improvement in clinical outcomes and the quality of care provided.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have noted in their health department report that accreditation has helped them in the following ways-
- It built a better system for identifying strengths and weaknesses.
- It promoted transparency.
- It improved upon the management process.
- They were able to stimulate better quality improvement and performance management.
- Increase the accountability of medical professionals amongst their community members, stakeholders, and policymakers.
- They were able to improve upon their communication with the governing entity/ board of health.
- It gave them a cutting edge over their competitors in funding opportunities.
Benefits of Accreditation
- Through its policies and initiatives towards resident physicians’ education, they are able to inculcate the value of professionalism.
- Their initiatives put necessary emphasis on resident/ fellow physicians’ experiential learning as well as academic education.
- They ensure that their core education principle of patient-oriented care is fulfilled within each program or institution.
- They try to strive to achieve a balance between clinical service and clinical education.
- Their education principles give importance to team-based education and patient care. This also leads to sharing the responsibility of all possible outcomes,
- Emphasis is added to evidence-based medicine and deliberative practice.
- One of its major benefits is providing scholarships and residencies to enhance the pool of research talent and develop physician-scientists.
- A lot of emphases is added to formative evaluation to improve resident practice.
ACGME Data Collection Systems (ADS) –
Accreditation Data System or ADS is the ACGME’s data collection system which comprises resident/fellow and faculty surveys and case logs. ADS is a web-based data collection software program that acts as a tool to collect and organize critical accreditation data such as program level aggregated results for all the sponsored institutions and programs. It is used internally by the staff of the review committees while it also acts as a means of communication between the sponsoring institutions and programs and ACGME.
The ADS is used by the Department of Field Activities to schedule site visits and to house reports concerning site visits for submission to the Review Committees. The Resident/Fellow surveys and Faculty Surveys are conducted annually to evaluate critical components of their program requirements to review for the purposes of accreditations. In order to protect and preserve the anonymity of the residents/fellows and faculty, the surveys are conducted by a separate system.
The majority of the data collected through the case logs and surveys are only available to individuals with login credentials such as designated institutional officials (DIOs), Program directors, program coordinators, residents, and fellows. acgmecaselog.com
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is responsible for accrediting all graduate medical education programs for doctors across the United States. It is a private non-profit council that reviews and approves medical residency and internship programs.
| Name | Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) |
|---|---|
| Organization Type: | Non-profit |
| Head: | Thomas J. Nasca |
| Founded: | 1981 |
| Headquarters: | Chicago, IL |
| Chair of Board of Directors: | Karen J. Nichols |
| Official Twitter Handle | https://twitter.com/acgme |
Frequently Asked Questions of acgme case login –
What does ACGME stand for?
ACGME stands for the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The ACGME is an independent not-for-profit that was started in 1981.
What are ACGME case logs?
ACGME Case Logs is a data collection tool where residents/fellows who are a part of the accreditation program enter their cases for assessment.
How do I use ACGME Case Log?
ACGME case log can only be accessed by those who are a part of the accredited program or institution, and it does not have open access. Residents/fellows only have access to the system while they are training.
What are some of the tips for logging cases in the matter of General Surgery?
1) If the patient is being treated for the same condition more than once, then the resident physician must log that condition only once throughout the duration of the patient’s treatment. The residents must pick one primary CPT code for submission in the Case Log System.
2) In the matter of general surgery, if a patient is treated over time and different conditions arise, then the original case must be edited and modified rather than logging new cases.
