Obtaining CME/CE/CPD credit through UpToDate^®

Through your use of UpToDate^®, you can obtain CME/CE/CPD credit. This topic describes the types of credit that are available and explains how to obtain credit.

Types of CME/CE/CPD credit that are available

To view our accreditation statement and a list of the types of credit available, click here.

Users can receive CME/CE/CPD credit as follows:

• MDs/DOs — For using UpToDate^®, you earn AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ that you can apply toward your licensing requirements.
• AAFP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has approved as AAFP Prescribed credit. You may earn 20 Prescribed credits per year using UpToDate, and any credit earned over those 20 credits may be used toward AAFP Elective credit.
• AAP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has approved as AAP credit. You may earn up to 50 AAP credits per year using UpToDate.
• ACEP members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has approved as ACEP Category I credit. You may earn up to 30 credits of ACEP Category I credit over a three-year period.
• ACOG members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has approved as ACOG cognate credit.
• 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.
• Physicians of Osteopathic Medicine — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) has approved as AOA Category 2-B credit.
• CFPC Mainpro® participants — For using UpToDate, you receive Mainpro®‑M1 Credit that you can apply toward your program requirements. You may earn up to 15 Mainpro®‑M1 credits per year through electronic push-technology programs such as UpToDate. For more information, please visit the CPD section of the CFPC website (www.cfpc.ca).
• Nurse Practitioners — For using UpToDate, you earn AANP contact hours. You can accrue up to 10 minutes of credit per topic per visit, which will result in 0.167 contact hours (minimum certificate award must be at least 15 minutes of learning or 0.25 contact hours).
• Time-based tracking (RACGP, RACP, RANZCOG)— For using UpToDate, you receive a log of time spent reviewing topics. This can be applied toward your country-specific licensing requirements.
• RCPSC Mainport® participants — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ including a detailed activity log. This activity can be applied toward your program requirements for Section 2 (Scanning) of the Royal College Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.
• DFP-Austria — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which is recognized by the Austrian Academy of Physicians of the Austrian Medical Chamber and may be submitted toward DFP e-learning requirements. One credit earned from UpToDate is equal to 1 DFP point.
• CPD-Ireland — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which is recognized by the Postgraduate Medical Training Bodies in Ireland and can be recorded as External CPD. Each learning cycle accumulates 0.5 credits.
• Federación Mexicana de Colegios de Obstetricia y Ginecología, A.C. (FEMECOG) and Colegio Mexicano de Especialistas en Ginecología y Obstetricia, A.C. (COMEGO) members — For using UpToDate, you receive a log of time spent reviewing topics (up to 10 minutes per topic per visit) and a certificate, which may be submitted to CMGO during your recertification process.
• Singapore Medical Council Members — For using UpToDate, you receive AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ including a detailed activity log and CME certificate. This activity can be applied toward your Category 3B (accredited distance-learning programmes) credit claims.

Accessing your CME/CE/CPD credit log

As you use UpToDate^®, the system automatically creates a monthly log of your clinical questions and topics viewed. The log reflects the current status of your credits or contact hours.

Mobile apps and desktop installs will accumulate credits, but details of these credits are only available online. To view or redeem your credits, you must log in to your UpToDate account online via a desktop or laptop computer.

To access your CME/CE/CPD credit log, do one of the following:

• Click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your default setting).
• Click the Access my available UpToDate CME/CE/CPD credit link in My Account.

For AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or CFPC Mainpro^®–M1 Credit, you will see both completed and potential credits. Completed credits reflect the searches for which you have completed the three-step learning cycle. Potential credits are those that can be fully accrued once you verify the application to practice.

Setting or changing your default CME/CE/CPD setting

Your default CME/CE/CPD setting determines the type of credit that you receive from UpToDate. The default setting types are:

• AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ (AAFP Prescribed credit, AAP credit, ACEP credit, ACOG cognate credit, AOA Category 2-B credit, DFP-Austria, RCPSC, CPD-Ireland, SMC)
• CFPC Mainpro®‑M1 Credit
• AANP Nurse Practitioner Contact Hours
• Physician Assistants and other non-MD/DO clinicians
• Time-based tracking (RACGP, RACP, RANZCOG)
• Federación Mexicana de Colegios de Obstetricia y Ginecología, A.C. (FEMECOG) and Colegio Mexicano de Especialistas en Ginecología y Obstetricia, A.C. (COMEGO)

Specifying your initial default setting

For online and desktop installs, your initial setting is CME. To change your setting, go online and update your CME setting in the CME section under My Account.

Changing your default setting

For online and desktop installs, go online to change your default CME/CE/CPD setting:

1. Do one of the following:
   • Click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your current default setting), then click View/Change My Settings in the navigation menu at left.
   • Click My Account on the toolbar, then click the Change my default CME/CE/CPD settings link.
2. Click Edit.
3. Select the desired default setting.
4. Click Submit.

Completing the learning cycle for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ or CFPC Mainpro®‑M1 Credit

UpToDate^® offers Internet Point of Care CME. Physicians conducting structured searches on clinical topics may claim a half (0.5) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™/CFPC MainPro^®–M1 credit for documented completion (either at the point of care or later) of the three-step learning cycle, which is as follows:

1. Review the original clinical question.
2. Identify the relevant sources from those consulted.
3. Describe the application of findings to practice.

For each month for which you want to earn credit, you must complete the credit log by selecting options that describe the application of your findings to practice. You may view and complete your monthly credit logs at any time, either prior to or during the process of submitting credits.

To complete a monthly log, access your CME/CE/CPD credit log, then do the following:

1. Click on the name of a month.
2. Select the appropriate option for each search to indicate how you applied the information to practice.
3. Click Save.

Submitting CME/CE/CPD credits and receiving certificates

To receive a certificate, you must submit your credits for processing. See the following for instructions on how to submit your credits:

Submitting UpToDate^® online credits

Use the following procedure to submit credits from UpToDate^® online:

1. Access your CME/CE/CPD credit log.
2. For CME credits — if you have not already done so, you must complete the learning cycle for each month for which you want to submit credits.

   For CE contact hours and time-based tracking — Proceed directly to Step 3.

3. Click the box in the Submit column for each month that you want to submit.
4. Click Continue.

   UpToDate prompts you to complete and submit a CME/CE/CPD evaluation.

5. After you submit the evaluation, review your submission request and click Submit.

   UpToDate displays a confirmation page. If you want to view your certificate immediately in PDF format, click the View/Print Certificate link on the confirmation page.

Submitting UpToDate^® desktop computer credits

For desktop computer installs, all credits will be automatically updated to your online account when you have an Internet connection. Login to www.UpToDate.com to access and submit credits.

Viewing your past CME/CE/CPD submissions (online only)

To view your past CME/CE/CPD submissions, do one of the following:

• Click CME or CE on the toolbar (depending on your default setting), then click View My Past Submissions in the navigation menu at left.
• Click My Account on the toolbar, then click the View my past CME/CE/CPD submissions link.

UpToDate displays a page that lists your past submissions.

If you want to view or print your credit log or your certificate for a particular submission, you can do so as follows:

• To display your credit log for a particular submission, click View/Print in the Log column for that submission. You can use your browser's print facility to print a copy of the log.
• To display your certificate for a particular submission, click View/Print in the Certificate column for that submission, then click Open in response to the prompt that asks if you want to open or save the file. UpToDate displays the certificate in a PDF file, which allows you to print the certificate or attach the certificate to an e-mail.

Obtaining duplicate certificates

You can obtain duplicate certificates as follows:

• For online credit certificates requested after July 1, 2006 — View your past submissions to see a list of submissions in order of date processed, with the associated logs and certificates. By clicking the View/Print link for a certificate, you can view a PDF version of the certificate and print a copy.
• For online credit certificates requested prior to July 1, 2006 — View your past submissions to see a list of submissions with the associated logs. Click the View/Print link for the desired log, print a copy, and mail it to us with your request for a duplicate certificate. Your request will be processed in two to three weeks.
• For desktop computer credit submissions — Contact Customer Service for instructions on how to access your credit logs.