ABMS Announces Certification in Two New Physician Subspecialties:
Clinical Informatics and Brain Injury Medicine

CHICAGO – Oct. 31, 2011 – The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the organization overseeing the certification of physician specialists in the United States, announces the creation of physician certification in two new subspecialties: Clinical Informatics and Brain Injury Medicine.  The ABMS Board of Directors and Assembly Representatives approved the two subspecialties at their September 20-21 meetings.  Clinical Informatics will be offered by the American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) and the American Board of Pathology (ABPath).  Brain Injury Medicine will be offered by the American Board of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (ABPMR) and the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN).

The ABMS Board of Directors and Assembly Representatives also approved a request by the American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) to co-sponsor the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) subspecialty certificate in Critical Care Medicine, as well as a request by the American Board of Family Medicine for a modification of language on certificates and a request by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery to modify the name of its general certificate from “Thoracic Surgery” to “Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery.”

“As medicine continues to evolve, new subspecialties are created or enhanced to broaden the scope and quality of care provided to patients,” said Kevin B. Weiss, MD, ABMS President and CEO.  “This will allow physicians seeking to practice in these areas to become certified, which will signal to their patients that they are highly qualified to practice in their specialty.”

Clinical Informatics

The goals of the Clinical Informatics subspecialty include:

• Establishing a standardized educational and certification process for physicians training in the complexities of the evolving field of clinical informatics and
• Enabling physicians who become Board Certified in this field to use their combined knowledge of patient care and informatics to support the transformation of health care from a low tech, paper-based system to one capable of tapping the power of computer-based systems to support all facets of health care delivery.

“The American Board of Preventive Medicine is delighted that Clinical Informatics was so enthusiastically supported by the other ABMS Boards,” said P. Glenn Merchant, MD, MPH, TM, ABPM’s Executive Director.  “As important as certification in Clinical Informatics is, this approval allows us to begin working with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to create pathways to Clinical Informatics fellowships.  It is those ACGME-accredited fellowships that will guarantee a steady stream of well-trained specialists, capable of helping to improve all aspects of health care delivery.”

“Certification in Clinical Informatics emphasizes the importance of electronic communication and data storage in 21st century medical care,” said Betsy D. Bennett, MD, PhD, ABPath Executive Vice President.  “As genomic medicine develops, physicians who are Board Certified in this area will play a key role in further development of the electronic medical record, disease diagnosis and surveillance, and individualized treatment.”

Brain Injury Medicine

The Brain Injury Medicine subspecialty was developed to provide:

• Core competency standards for physician training in evaluating and providing non-surgical treatment of patients with brain injuries;
• A high level of care for patients with acquired brain injuries and their families in hospital and post-acute care settings and over the continuum of care to facilitate the process of recovery and improve medical and functional outcomes and
• Brain Injury Medicine administrative skills to assist physicians in activities such as program development, quality assurance, facilities planning and standards development.

“The new subspecialty was created because of the increased need for diagnosis and treatment options for patients with brain injuries and the growing need to monitor, assess and advance new technologies for patients,” said Anthony M. Tarvestad, JD, ABPMR Executive Director.  “With this new certification, brain injury medicine specialists will lead the way in providing optimal, advanced and cost-effective care for patients with brain injuries.”

"With increasing awareness of the prevalence and lasting effects of brain injury, it is expected that this new specialty will serve to advance the training and document the expertise of physicians who diagnose and treat patients with these potentially debilitating conditions," said Larry R. Faulkner, MD, ABPN President and CEO.

Critical Care Medicine

Critical Care Medicine has been a recognized subspecialty certificate offered by ABIM as well as the American Board of Pediatrics and American Board of Anesthesiology since the 1980s.  Although ABEM has not offered a subspecialty certificate in Critical Care Medicine, many emergency physicians have completed Critical Care Medicine fellowship training.  The new co-sponsorship provides a pathway for emergency medicine physicians to enter established Internal Medicine Critical Care Medicine fellowships and, upon successful completion, pursue Board Certification in Internal Medicine Critical Care Medicine.

“We are excited that emergency physicians now have the opportunity to assess their knowledge and skills in critical care medicine and that a formal training pathway exists to build upon their emergency training, allowing them the opportunity to become certified in this important subspecialty,” said Richard N. Nelson, MD, ABEM President. 

For an updated listing of specialty and subspecialty certificates offered through the 24 ABMS Member Boards, please visit www.abms.org.

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About ABMS
For more than 75 years, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) has been the medical organization overseeing physician certification in the United States.  It assists its
24 Member Boards in their efforts to develop and implement educational and professional standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists.  ABMS Member Boards provide physician certification information to ABMS for its certification verification service programs.  ABMS is recognized by the key health care credentialing accreditation entities as a primary equivalent source of Board Certification data for medical specialists.  Patients can visit www.CertificationMatters.org or call toll-free (866) ASK-ABMS to see if their physician is Board Certified by an ABMS Member Board.  For more information about ABMS, visit www.abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.