Section Med 402.01 - Continuing Medical Education(a) All licensed physicians shall complete 100 hours of approved continuing medical education (CME) requirements every 2 years, 40 hours of which shall be in Category I, and no more than 60 credit hours of which shall be in Category II.(b) Category I courses shall be those courses or activities which satisfy the current requirements of the American Medical Association's Physician's Recognition Award program (PRA), as set forth in the AMA's current PRA bulletin, or which are fully equivalent to these requirements and satisfy the CME requirements of the New Hampshire Osteopathic Association. Such courses shall be considered approved for purposes of Med 402.(c) Licensees shall acquaint themselves with the requirements of the PRA program or the New Hampshire Osteopathic Association, and may obtain a copy of the AMA's PRA bulletin by contacting the: American Medical Association
AMA Plaza
330 N Wabash Avenue, Suite 39300
Chicago, Illinois 60611-5885
Telephone Number (312) 464-4677.
(d) Licensees who were previously licensed in another state may continue to take continuing medical education courses in accordance with a previously established PRA renewal cycle.(e) Each year of full-time training in a residency accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) or the American Osteopathic Association (AOA), each accredited fellowship taken in the United States shall be awarded 50 Category I CME credit hours.(f) Completion of a degree in a medically-related field shall be awarded 25 Category I credit hours as stated on official documentation.(g) Passage of an American Specialty Board examination, whether for initial eligibility or for recertification, shall be accepted as the equivalent of 100 category I CME credit hours.(h) Annual Certificates of Competency/Recertification exams shall be awarded credits as stated on official documentation from the relevant board certifying agency.(i) Licensees who show proof of being up to date on a program of maintenance of certification by the physician's specialty organization, deemed adequate by the board, shall be considered to have completed their continuing medical education requirement for the preceding 2 years.(j) Category II credit hours shall be awarded on the basis of actual time spent on the educational aspects of the course or activity.(k) Category II CME courses shall include the following courses and activities: (1) CME lectures and seminars not designated as Category I;(2) Time spent teaching medical courses to practicing physicians, residents, physician assistants, physician assistant students, preceptees, medical students, or allied health professionals;(3) Presentation or publication of a scientific paper to a medical audience or in a medical journal;(4) Unsupervised learning activities of the type described in Med 402.01(l); and(5) Meritorious learning experiences which provide a unique educational benefit to a licensee and meet the requirements of Med 402.01(m).(l) Allowable non-supervised Category II CME activities shall include: (1) Self-instruction, including journal reading and the use of television and other audiovisual materials;(2) The education a physician received from a consultant;(3) Participation in programs concerned with review and evaluation of patient care; and(4) Time spent in a self-assessment examination, not including examinations and quizzes published in journals.(m) Meritorious learning experiences for which Category II CME credit hours shall be awarded shall be documented by a narrative report demonstrating the presence of the following features:(1) The educational need served by the activity;(2) A description of the activity, including the educational content and the manner in which the learning occurred;(3) The time spent on the project, itemized to show the total time spent and the time spent on the direct educational aspects of the project for which CME credit is claimed; and(4) The number of credit hours claimed, which number shall not exceed the number of full hours actually spent on the direct educational aspects of the project and shall exclude transportation to and other preliminary time expended.(n) A licensee may claim 10 Category II CME credit hours for the presentation or publication of a scientific paper as of the date of the publication or presentation, and one CME credit hour for each full hour of actual participation in courses or activities recognized in Med 402.01(k)(1), (2) or (4), upon successful completion of the course or activity.(o) Pursuant to RSA 318-B:40, all licensees required to register with the controlled drug prescription health and safety program shall complete 3 credit hours of approved online continuing education or pass an online examination in the area of pain management or addiction disorders.(p) Licensees may satisfy the requirements in (o) above by taking CMEs that:(1) Are AMA PRA Category 1 credits or AACME accredited; and(2) Reference opioid prescribing for the management or treatment of pain or opioid use disorders in the course abstract and learning objectives.N.H. Admin. Code § Med 402.01
#4970, eff 11-8-90, EXPIRED: 11-8-96
New. #6517, eff 5-30-97, EXPIRED: 5-30-05
New . #8662, INTERIM, eff 6-16-06, EXPIRED: 12-13-06
New. #8945, eff 7-18-07; ss by #9900, eff 4-12-11 (see Revision Note at chapter heading for Med 400)
Amended by Volume XL Number 7, Filed February 13, 2020, Proposed by #12972, Effective 1/10/2020, Expires 1/10/2030