As part of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery (ABOS) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program, ABOS Diplomates are required to submit a surgical Case List once during each 10-year ABOS MOC Cycle. The Case List, which is submitted along with a Professional Standing Update (Application) in Years 7, 8, or 9, consists of all primary surgical cases performed January 1st through September 30th of the year of submission, up to a maximum of 75 cases. Diplomates who have performed less than 35 cases during that time period submit the last 35 surgical cases that they have performed prior to the September 30th date (see below).
The mission of the ABOS is to protect the public and one of the ways the ABOS can do it is through a Case List. The ABOS requires a new Case List every MOC Cycle because:
- Review: The ABOS reviews the Case List looking for outliers. Case Lists that have outliers will be reviewed further by veteran orthopaedic surgeons and may come before the ABOS Credentials Committee. While a very small percentage of Diplomates’ Case Lists require further review, the ABOS believes that Case Lists and Peer Reviews are effective ways to protect the public.
- Case List Feedback: The Candidate receives a report from the ABOS that shows data on the Diplomates Case List compared to Case Lists submitted by all Diplomates over the previous several years as well as those Case Lists submitted by surgeons practicing in the same subspecialty.
- Self-Evaluation: The Candidate’s compiling of the Case List itself often results in self-reflection on particular cases.
- Examination: For those taking an ABOS Oral Recertification Examination, 12 cases from the Case List are selected by the ABOS for the Candidate to present at the Examination.
Diplomates who Case List contains fewer than 35 surgical cases during the collection period must contact the ABOS for next steps, including the possibility of participating in the Non-Operative Pathway. Diplomates who are approved for and are successful at recertifying through the Non-Operative Pathway are listed this way on the ABOS website. If they re-enter operative surgery, they are required to notify the ABOS within 18 months and proceed through an Oral Examination process.
