The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) recently launched a new online system for ABEM certification called MyABEM. The new portal allows physicians access to multiple services including updating contact information, applying for certification, registering for exams, viewing scores, and completing activities for certification. The goal of MyABEM, according to ABEM, is to streamline the certification process and enhance the user experience for emergency physicians.

But to opt into the new portal, physicians must agree to new waiver requirements. The “Release of ABEM” in the Continuing Certification Agreement is a provision that requires physicians to waive their right to litigate against ABEM for any disagreement with an ABEM decision related to certification activities. This would include “eligibility determination, exam development, administration, and scoring, as well as decisions to deny or revoke certification,” said ABEM President James D. Thomas, MD, in a statement. “This clause does not apply to lawsuits initiated by physicians for other reasons, such as antitrust.”

Dr. Thomas explained that the purpose of this clause is to help ABEM keep fees to physicians at reasonable levels, as lawsuits can be expensive to defend even if the plaintiff loses the case. “Without this clause, those costs would be passed on to ABEM-certified physicians,” he said. “The provision that ABEM may seek reimbursement of legal fees from plaintiffs is also to ensure that costs are not passed on to ABEM-certified physicians.”

He pointed out that “similar provisions have been upheld in at least three litigated cases against member boards of the American Board of Medical Specialties. These provisions are required by several other certifying Boards.”

Rade B. Vukmir, MD, an emergency, critical care and neurocritical care physician, and professor of clinical emergency medicine at Drexel University in Philadelphia, agreed that such waivers are not uncommon. “I have seen these waivers many times, among societies and boards,” he said. “While I can’t speak for ABEM, their position is that this is the same waiver that existed before.”

The rollout of MyABEM, however, was more than just the introduction of a new waiver, Dr. Vukmir explained. It also signaled the development of a more personalized experience for participants, which has been a growing trend among medical societies and boards.

“They used it as an opportunity to review a waiver document, but this is also part of a broader move to protect professional information, especially in this day and age, where people share everything on social media,” said Dr. Vukmir. “Your entire career may be on LinkedIn, and I think the [ABEM] Board did this in a responsible manner by wanting to protect this information.”