Become an Accredited CME Provider

To be an Accredited CME Provider, an organization must:

• Be located in Maine;
• Have developed and/or presented at least two programs of CME for physicians;
• Present activities that have ‘valid’ content. These are activities that promote recommendations, treatment, or manners of practicing medicine that serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. Organizations will not be eligible for accreditation if they present activities that promote unscientific modalities of diagnosis or therapy or treatments that are known to have risks or dangers that outweigh the benefits or are known to be ineffective;
• Serve a target audience of at least 70% of physician learners from within Maine and its contiguous states;
• Be an organization whose mission is to 1) provide clinical services directly to patients or 2) the education of healthcare professionals or 3) serve as fiduciary to patients, the public, or population health;
• Not be an ineligible company. An ineligible company is any entity producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. Providers of clinical service directly to patients are not considered to be ineligible companies.
• Demonstrate an overall organizational commitment to the CME program, including physician support, budget support, staffing, and record-keeping resources.

If your organization is deemed eligible through the pre-application process, you will be invited to continue with the initial accreditation process. The applicant will demonstrate its compliance with the ACCME’s accreditation requirements through three pieces of evidence:

• Initial Accreditation Self Study
• Performance in Practice Structured Abstract
• Accreditation Interview

The CCMEA Committee will review all materials and determine the organization’s compliance with the ACCME Core Accreditation Criteria and Standards for Integrity and Independence. Initial applicants will be notified of the accreditation determination. Applicants deemed compliant in all areas will receive Provisional Accreditation to offer CME for a 2-year term.

The Pre-Application fee for the consideration of CCMEA Accreditation and the determination of the organization’s eligibility status is $500 and is due with the submission of the Pre-Application.

The fee for the Initial Accreditation process is $1,000 and is billed at the time of the accreditation decision notification.

View a typical 12-month Initial Accreditation Timeline Template.