CME credits from Up To Date?

[Longmire86]

A colleague just told me that we can gain Category I CME credits from using Uptodate...anyone know about this? Are they credits that are approved for us PAs?

[rcdavis]

They are approved cat I, assigned by uptodate as you read up, research various topics. Go to your account, services, and you will see CME summary, which will print out date, subject, and # hours ( usually 0.15-0.5). But these are for EACH search.

[Longmire86]

Thanks! Seems like a great resource. My health center has uptodate for all of us and I use it pretty much on a daily basis anyway so I might as well be getting CMEs for it.

[PACProvider]

The way UpToDate CME works is a little confusing. First, it is true that you can receive Category 1 CME for reading the articles. What isn't obvious is that you can only get CME if and only if your UpToDate subscription also has a CME component. I have worked at two different health systems that have UpToDate but neither of those hospitals purchased the component that allows providers to obtain CME. Thus, my employer allowed me to use CME funds to purchase an individual subscription which allowed me to get CME credit for what I read. It is expensive (slightly more than $500) but since the employer paid for it, I was quite pleased. I logged over 100 credits in a year. The only other downside is that you have to enter information about how the article influenced your practice and then enter the credit into NCCPA. Each article is worth either one credit or a fraction of one credit. It might take 5 minutes to enter it into NCCPA. It is time consuming since you have lots of entries of 1 credit or less. Still, I find it a great resource and I am happy to get CME credit with UpToDate.

[joanna.nola]

How do you log it into NCCPA and get your credits? I have a private subscription and have over 200 CME hours logged (all from my first few months of practice & when studying for boards!) but I'm not sure how I translate that into CME.

I bought it straight out of PA school. Uptodate gives you a deal as a trainee. I got 2 years for 400ish. A lot of money for a recent grad to shell out, but I reasoned that i could use it on the go with both my Iphone and my Ipad (at one time, a colleague walked in and I was on my desk computer entering in a chart, simultaneously looking up something on my Iphone and Ipad and I had my laptop there ready to carry in a room). At the time I wasn't sure where I'd work, but I was arming myself to be the best prepared I could be. You can download to your devices and use it offline. I work in a FQHC. Our internet has gone down a few times (so much for online uptodate or even EMR in those situations!) and it has helped me look things up without internet access. So I think it was money well spent for my first couple years out of school.

[jts]

How do I make sure my uptodate subscription has a CME component? I have been logging my CME with the NCCPA on a monthly basis and have had no problems so I am guessing that I do have the CME component. This is what I read on uptodate concerning CME for PAs:

 

Physician Assistants — According to AMA policy, AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ can be awarded only to physicians (MDs and DOs). For using UpToDate, you receive a certificate of participation that you can use to document your activity. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts this documentation toward the AAPA Category I CME requirement.

[jts]

Joanna.nola, Just log onto NCCPA and click on CME on the left and follow the instructions. I did this and have a lot of hours also but my question is whether or not each hour on uptodate translates into an hour of CME???

[cupojava]

I have an individual subscription. After logging in, I click on the "My Account" link then to "access my available CME/CPD" then follow the instructions. This will then print a CME certificate. I don't know if this helps; if not just ignore.