Program and Activity Reporting System
For providers receiving accreditation decisions in November 2011 or later, for reaccreditation purposes, you will be required to submit data about activities that you provided during your current accreditation term. If your current accreditation term pre-dates January 2008, you do not need to provide data for activities that occurred prior to that date.
So, for example, if you were last accredited in July 2007, at the time of reaccreditation, you will be required to submit data only for activities that you provided or plan to provide between January 1, 2008 and the end of your current accreditation term. For your convenience, and for your own record-keeping purposes, PARS will allow you to enter data about activities that you provided beginning with the 2005 reporting year.
Tab-delimited Batch Upload: Bringing Bulk Activity Data Into PARS
Mon, 08/23/2010 - 14:39 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial is designed to prepare you to use the “Batch Upload” feature found under the PARS application’s Activities tab to import tab-delimited CME activity data.
Download a transcript of this video tutorial (PDF).
Related Content:
- What is a tab-delimited batch upload?
- Do you have any tips about using the Tab-delimited Batch Upload feature in PARS?
- For answers to more frequently asked questions about PARS, visit the Program and Activity Reporting System - FAQ page.
ShareGetting Started with PARS: Required Timeframes for Data Entry
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:48 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial contains helpful tips that will help you get started using the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from accredited CME providers.
Specifically, in this video we will explore the question, "When do I have to enter my organization's information into PARS?"
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for more Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
Getting Started with PARS: Program Summary
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:45 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial contains helpful tips that will help you get started using the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from accredited CME providers.
Specifically, in this video we will explore the question, "What information should I enter in the Program Summary tab?"
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for more Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
Getting Started with PARS: Managing Contact Information
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:41 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial contains helpful tips that will help you get started using the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from accredited CME providers.
You will find answers to the following questions discussed in this video:
- How do I edit contact information in PARS?
- How do I add PARS users to my account?
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for more Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
Getting Started with PARS: Viewing Activity Data
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:38 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial contains helpful tips that will help you get started using the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from accredited CME providers.
Specifically, we will explore the question "How do I view the activities that I've entered into PARS?"
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for more Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
Getting Started with PARS: Entering Activity Data
Thu, 07/22/2010 - 12:31 — staffreviewDescription: This tutorial contains helpful tips that will help you get started using the ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from accredited CME providers.
You will find answers to the following questions discussed in this video:
- How do I enter activity data and information?
- Entering Data using Batch Upload
- What is the difference between Open and Closed activities?
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for more Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
There is only one level of access in PARS. All users associated with your organizational records will have the ability to add, edit and delete information.
When an organization first applies for ACCME accreditation, it self-selects its organization type. ACCME uses this information for reporting and analysis purposes. Providers may not change their organization type unless the nature of their organization has changed significantly. If you would like ACCME to change your organization type, please contact us with an explanation of the reason for the request.
You must notify ACCME in writing (email or US mail) of a change to your organization’s "Provider Name." This correspondence should include a description of the circumstances leading to the change.
If your organization is the accredited provider for a jointly sponsored activity, the income (commercial support, advertising and exhibit, or other) and expenses associated with that activity should be included in your organization's totals for income and expenses.
Yes. Organizations must complete all of the fields on the Program Summary. If your organization did not have any programmatic income or expense for the year, you should enter zero (“0”) into each of the blank fields. The 2010 Program Summary must be completed by March 31, 2011.
The Program Summary is a summary of the income and expense attributable to your CME Program for the year. The Program Summary reflects two kinds of data:
- first, the aggregation of income and expense that is attributable to individual CME activities (these amounts are automatically aggregated from the information you provide about your individual activities), and
- second, income and expense that is not attributable to a single activity, but rather is allocated to your CME Program as a whole (you must manually fill in these amounts each year).
Programmatic income, for instance might include internal allocations from another department at your organization. Programmatic expenses, for example, might include CME staff salaries or rent. Please note: at this time, commercial support must be attributed to a specific CME activity.
Related FAQs:
On this line, please report the total of any and all income your activity received that does not fall under commercial support or advertising and exhibit income. The most common examples of "income from other sources" includes:
- activity registration fees,
- grants from government agencies (or independent non-profit foundations), and
- internal allocations; i.e. money that comes from your organization's general budget to pay the expenses of the CME unit.
If you have income from other sources to report that is not associated with one specific activity, it should be reported on the Program Summary tab. See our FAQ about Program Summary for additional information.
Yes, the accredited provider must report the full amount of commercial support received, even if the commercial support is distributed to other non-accredited joint sponsors.
In a co-sponsorship relationship, if the commercial support is distributed amongst the accredited providers, each accredited provider should report the amount it receives. It is also acceptable for the accredited provider who is taking responsibility for the activity to report the full amount of commercial support. What we want to avoid is "double counting" of the amount of commercial support received.
In March 2011, the ACCME modified the requirement for reporting in-kind commercial support, in response to feedback from accredited providers. Below is a description of how to report in-kind commercial support via the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) for activities taking place in 2011 and beyond, as well as for activities that took place in or before 2010.
- For activities that you are recording for the Reporting Year 2011 or later, you will account for any in-kind (non-monetary) commercial support by indicating the nature of the in-kind support. You should not estimate the dollar value of in-kind support. The following are the options in PARS to describe the nature of in-kind support:
- Durable equipment
- Facilities/Space
- Disposable supplies (Non-biological)
- Animal parts or tissue
- Human parts of tissue
- Other - description required
- For activities that you are recording for the Reporting Year 2010 or earlier, you will estimate the value of in-kind support, add that amount to any monetary support you received, and report the total as "Total Value of Commercial Support Received."
Related Content
Executive Summary of ACCME Board of Directors' March 2011 Meeting (PDF)
How do I report Commercial Support for an activity? FAQ
Commercial Support for a CME activity is financial, or in-kind, contributions given by a commercial interest, which is used to pay all or part of the costs of a CME activity. The definition of roles and requirements when commercial support is received are outlined in the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support (SM).
Related Content
How do I report Commercial Support for an activity? FAQ
ACCME defines non-physician participants as attendees other than MDs and DOs, such as nurses, physician assistants, and other health professionals. Include residents in this category.
No. Please report the total number of non-resident MDs and DOs who participated in the activity, even if they did not seek CME credit for attending.
ACCME defines physician participants as non-resident MD’s or DO’s that participated in the activity.
Hours of instruction equals the total hours of educational instruction provided. For example, if a one-day course lasts eight (8) hours (not including breaks or meals), then total hours of instruction reported for that course is 8.
See the ACCME FAQs about Regularly Scheduled Series, Manuscript Review and Learning from Teaching for additional specific examples regarding calculating hours of instruction for these types of activities.
Related FAQ: Is "Hours of Instruction" the same as the number of AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM that we designated for the activity?
“Description of Content” is an optional field for a description of the information and topics that were discussed during the CME activity. There is no specified format for this field, although it is limited to 2500 characters. If your organization produced an abstract for the activity, we encourage you to copy and paste it into the Content field. If you did not produce an abstract, you may include the written objectives of the activity, or simply describe the content in your own words. In the future, this information may assist ACCME and its providers in demonstrating the value and scope of CME.
Hours of instruction and AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ designated may be the same or may be different. AMA PRA Category 1 Credits Designated is an optional field in PARS.
A directly sponsored activity is one that is planned, implemented and evaluated by the accredited provider. Include co-sponsored activities (provided by two accredited providers) in this category if you are the accredited provider awarding the credit. In contrast, a jointly sponsored activity is one that is planned, implemented and evaluated by the accredited provider and a non-accredited entity.
Related link: ACCME's Poicy on Joint Sponsorship
Annually, ACCME aggregates the activity data that is reported by providers and publishes an Annual Report that provides information to the CME community about the size and scope of the CME enterprise. The “Reporting Year” tells ACCME in which Annual Report the activity belongs. Most providers operate on a calendar year basis, and for these providers the Reporting Year is equivalent to the year of the Activity Date (For instance, Activity Date = September 1, 2010, and Reporting Year = 2010).
However, certain providers, such as some hospitals and medical schools, operate on an academic year calendar, and may need to pay special attention to the “Reporting Year” field for each activity they enter. For instance, if a provider offers a Regularly Scheduled Series that begins September 1, 2010 and ends June 1, 2011, the Activity Date would be September 1, 2010, and the Reporting Year may be either 2010 or 2011, depending on how the organization chooses to aggregate their data for purposes of the Annual Report.
Related Content:
I entered all of the required activity information into the form, but I don’t see it on the Activities page now. Where did it go?
How do I report activities that are available for more than one year?
"Learning from Teaching" is a descriptive label for a type of CME activity. (The identification of activity types by the ACCME serves to allow the ACCME to report data and information on the range of educational formats offered by the national CME enterprise. This helps provide an accurate description of the CME enterprise and dispels the myth that accredited CME is mostly lecture, or didactic, in format.) The ACCME does not have special requirements for this activity type.
How do I report Learning from Teaching CME in PARS?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
Internet Searching and Learning CME is based on a learner identifying a problem in practice and then accessing content in search for an answer from sources on the Internet that are facilitated by a provider. For the purpose of ACCME data collection, the ACCME includes AMA-defined Point of Care CME as a form of Internet Searching and Learning.
Related Content:
How do I report Internet Searching and Learning CME in PARS?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
Performance Improvement CME is based on a learner’s participation in a project established and/or guided by a provider in which a physician identifies an educational need through a measure of his/her performance in practice, engages in educational experiences to meet the need, integrates learning into patient care and then re-evaluates his/her performance.
Related Content:
How do I report Performance Improvement CME in PARS?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
Test Item Writing is a CME activity based on a learner’s participation in the pre-publication development and review of any type of test-item (e.g., multiple choice questions, standardized patient cases).
Related Content:
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
How do I report Test Item Writing CME in PARS?
Manuscript Review CME is based on a learner’s participation in the pre-publication review process of a manuscript.
Related Content:
How do I report Manuscript Review CME in PARS?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
A Journal-Based CME activity includes the reading of an article (or adapted formats for special needs), a provider stipulated/learner directed phase (that may include reflection, discussion, or debate about the material contained in the article(s)) and a requirement for the completion by the learner of a pre-determined set of questions or tasks relating to the content of the material as part of the learning process.
Related Content:
How do I report Journal CME in PARS?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
An Internet Enduring Material Activity is available when the physician participant chooses to complete it. It is “enduring,” meaning that there is not just one time on one day to participate in it. Rather, the participant determines when he/she participates. (Examples: online interactive educational module, recorded presentation, podcast).
Enduring Material Internet Activities should be reported in PARS for each year in which they are active, either for the entire year or any part thereof. For each year that you provided the activity, please report the number of learners (physician or non-physician) who participated in it during that year, as well as the income and expense related to the activity for that year. Do not report cumulative data for an activity spanning multiple years.
Related Content:
How do I report activities that are available for more than one year?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
An Enduring Material is a printed, recorded, or computer-presented CME activity that may be used over time at various locations and which, in itself, constitutes a planned activity. In an enduring material the provider creates the content.
Enduring materials should be reported in PARS for each year in which they are active, either for the entire year or any part thereof. For each year that you provided the activity, please report the number of learners (physician or non-physician) who participated in it during that year, as well as the income and expense related to the activity for that year. Do not report cumulative data for an activity spanning multiple years.
Related Content:
How do I report activities that are available for more than one year?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
An Internet Live Course is an online course available at a certain time on a certain date and is only available in real-time, just as if it were a course held in an auditorium. Once the event has taken place, learners may no longer participate in that activity. (Example: webcast)
Related Content:
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
A course is identified as a Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS) when it is planned to have
- a series with multiple sessions that
- occur on an ongoing basis (offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly) and
- are primarily planned by and presented to the accredited organization’s professional staff. Examples of activities that are planned and presented as a Regularly Scheduled Series are Grand Rounds, Tumor Boards, and M&M Conferences.
Related Content:
How do I report information about RSS in the ACCME Program & Activity Reporting System (PARS)?
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
A Course is a live CME activity where the learner participates in person and which is planned on a one-by-one basis and designated for credit as a single activity. (Examples: annual meeting, conference, seminar).
A very large, week-long activity such as an annual conference should be reported as one Course. The hours of instruction are calculated by totaling the hours of all educational sessions offered for CME credit. The numbers of participants should be the registered attendance at the overall event (it is not necessary to calculate participant totals from the individual sessions).
Related Content:
What type of CME activity types can be reported in PARS?
Below is a list of the different CME activity types that can be reported in the PARS System. You can click on the name of any of these activity types for a definition and additional information:
Upon launch, only fields that are currently required by ACCME for reaccreditation purposes or were previously required on the Annual Report are required by PARS.
PARS is designed to collect additional data and information on:
- content areas,
- subcategories for courses,
- AMA PRA Category 1 Credits Designated
- names of joint sponsors and commercial supporters,
- the nature of in-kind support, and
- some activity-specific income and expense information.
Entry of these additional data is optional. The purpose of collecting additional information is to enable the ACCME and its providers to gain a more detailed and comprehensive picture of the national CME enterprise. This information could assist the ACCME and its providers in demonstrating the value and scope of CME.
Related FAQs:
What data are providers required to enter into PARS?
By default, the Activities page of PARS displays “open” activities that occur during the current Reporting Year. If you enter all required activity information, but no longer see the activity listed in the default view, first make sure that the “Reporting Year” is set to the appropriate year for the activity, and then click on the “closed” tab on the Activities page. Activities that contain all required information are considered “closed.”
An important concept in PARS is that of “open” and “closed” activities. Open activities are those that have a minimum set of data entered for them: specifically, activity name, activity type, activity date, and, if applicable, location. Once these data about an activity are entered, the activity is “open”, and is saved to the database. Closed activities are those activities for which all required information has been entered. For example, in order for an activity to be considered “closed”, a provider must enter data about the hours of instruction, physician and non-physician participants, sponsorship, whether commercial support was received, and if it was, how much was received and from how many supporters. Once all required fields for an activity contain data, PARS considers the activity “closed”. For more information about which data are required to "close" an activity, see this FAQ - What data are providers required to enter into PARS?.
Related FAQ:
I entered all of the required activity information into the form, but I don’t see it on the Activities page now. Where did it go?
XML File Export: XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language, a Web standard that makes it easier for computer systems to exchange data over the Internet. In order to collect information in a manner that is consistent with the data communications standards being adopted by medical education content providers, PARS includes a data upload tool that accepts XML files formatted to conform with the Medical Education Metrics (MEMS) XML standard created by Medbiquitous. Providers that have CME activity tracking systems that support exports to XML files may wish to explore this option for uploading data to ACCME. Some technical knowledge of your tracking system and XML may be required.
Download a zip file with the 2011 updated template XML upload technical information, including instructions for uploading activity information through an XML File Export process.
To upload activities that took place in Reporting Year 2010 or in previous years, download the 2010 version of the XML template.
Related Content:
Can I use the ACCME Excel template to create an XML file upload?
The tab-delimited batch upload enables providers to export multiple activity records at one time into PARS. The tab-delimited batch upload process originates with the use of an MS Excel template which closely mirrors the CME Activity List used previously by ACCME accredited providers to report activities for reaccreditation purposes.
Organizations that already have their own CME tracking system and have the ability to match the fields in this system to the fields in the template might elect to use this format. The tab-delimited format might also be a good choice for organizations that provide the same activity in multiple locations throughout the year. In this case, ACCME expects you to count each of these events as separate activities. Because the process originates with a Tab-Delimited Activity File Template, a simple way for you to enter many activities with similar data is to copy data from one row to another.
Download the Tab-Delimited File Upload Instructions with updates for 2011 (PDF).
Download the Tab-Delimited Activity File Template with updates for 2011 (XLS).
To upload activities that took place in Reporting Year 2010 or in previous years, download the 2010 version of the file upload instructions and the 2010 version of the activity file template.
Related Content:
- Tab-Delimited Batch Upload: Bringing Bulk Activity Data Into PARS video tutorial
- Do you have any tips about using the Tab-delimited Batch Upload feature in PARS? FAQ
Providers have two options for entering their activity data in batches:
For more information about these batch upload methods, please click on the links above.
- Web-based Interface - By clicking “Add an Activity” on the Activities page, you can enter data about activities one at a time. The web-based interface is a good option for organizations that only provide a moderate number of activities throughout the year, or do not already have a CME tracking system of their own.
Providers also have two options for uploading data in batches (you can click on the link below to learn more about each of these options):
Yes. Providers have the ability to download a file that contains all of their activity data by clicking on the "Download All Activities" link on the Activiites tab in PARS. By clicking on this link, the data that your organization has reported will be downloaded into a .csv file, which you can then save as a .xls or other spreadsheet file format for easy reference and analysis.
Providers may determine when and with how much frequency to enter their activity data. PARS is now available for use and the ACCME encourages providers to begin inputting data as soon as possible. All of your organization's 2010 program and activity data must be entered by March 31, 2011 to allow for the calculation of the ACCME 2010 Annual Report data.
Related Content:
How do I use PARS to complete my year-end reporting?
How do I let the ACCME know that my year-end reporting is complete?
Individuals who are designated as a Primary Contact, Billing Contact and/or CEO of an ACCME-accredited organization may access PARS with a unique login ID and password. Additionally, any of those three individuals may add two additional users to PARS via the “User Management" tab. If one of your organization’s users would like to receive their login ID and password, they may visit http://pars.accme.org, and click on “receive a password.”
Related FAQ: Can I assign varying levels of access (i.e. read-only) to certain members of our organization’s staff?
Yes. PARS replaces the Excel spreadsheets ACCME used to collect activity data during the reaccreditation process, as well as the online Annual Reporting System that ACCME accredited providers used to submit their ACCME Annual Reports. PARS streamlines these two data reporting mechanisms into one central location.
The primary purpose of PARS is to provide a centralized system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from its accredited CME providers. PARS will help the ACCME and providers demonstrate the size, scope and value of the CME enterprise.
ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS): An Introduction
Mon, 04/05/2010 - 12:49 — kswimmDescription: Kate Regnier, ACCME Deputy CEO, discusses the purpose and value of ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), a centralized Web-based system for the ACCME’s collection and management of activity and program data from its accredited CME providers.
Visit the Getting Started with PARS video tutorial page for helpful Video FAQs about the ACCME's Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).