ACCME awards accreditation to COHRI for continuing medical education

Concentra Occupational Health Research Institute (COHRI), the independent medical education and research arm of Concentra, was recently awarded accreditation status as a provider of continuing medical education (CME) for physicians by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). The accreditation term is effective through July 31, 2012.

This accreditation seeks to assure both physicians and the public that CME activities provided by COHRI meet the high standards of the essential areas, elements, and policies for accreditation as specified by the ACCME. COHRI, which represents one of the few medical practices in the nation that have accreditation, and joins other high-profile health care organizations and providers, including the American Medical Association, the Mayo Clinic, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and John Hopkins University–School of Medicine.

“We are extremely pleased to receive accreditation status from the ACCME,” said COHRI President and Concentra Chief Medical Officer W. Tom Fogarty, M.D. “It affirms Concentra’s leadership position in the outpatient medical field including occupational, prevention, and urgent care. We look forward to continually building on our expertise to provide the best possible continuing education.”

The ACCME accreditation designation is the culmination of an intensive 18-month reaccreditation process that included a self-study report, evidence of performance-in-practice, and an accreditation interview conducted by the ACCME reviewers. The ACCME rigorously evaluates the overall continuing medical education programs of institutions according to standards adopted by all seven sponsoring organizations of the ACCME: the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the Association for Hospital Medical Education, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the Federation of State Medical Boards of the U.S., Inc.

Concentra’s research and medical education programs focus on promoting the public's health by determining best practices regarding injury/illness management of the worker, promoting health prevention, and advancing knowledge in the field of occupational health. Traditionally, there has been little funding directed to the field of occupational and preventive medicine research, and few medical schools have devoted substantial resources to the specialty. As the leading provider of occupational health care services, the organization developed COHRI to fill that void.

Each year, Concentra’s affiliated physicians treat and document half a million patient injuries, creating the largest clinical outcomes database in the country. By studying and analyzing this data, COHRI is able to create best-practice standards that serve as the basis for its CME programs. This comprehensive, outcomes-based approach has set a new standard of excellence for the health care industry.