CMS’ Physician Compare website adds osteopathic board certification

In April, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Physician Compare, a resource that assists patients in finding and choosing physicians and other health care professionals currently enrolled in Medicare, added AOA board certification as a credential on its website. Previously, only physicians certified by the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) were listed as board certified, even though AOA certification has previously been deemed by CMS as substantially equivalent to that of ABMS certification.

Patients searching for physicians using the site will now be able to recognize DOs holding AOA credentials as being board certified. AOA board-certified physicians’ information will be shown under the General Information tab on their Physician Compare profile pages, according to Medicare.gov.

This win for osteopathic physicians is the result of efforts from AOA leadership in Washington, DC, and Chicago, who met with CMS to make the case for osteopathic board certification and ensure that it would be added to the program.

If you’d like to update or edit the board certification information on your Physician Compare profile page, you can email the Physician Compare support team at physiciancompare@westat.com. Medicare requests that you include in the email:

• Your full name.
• NPI.
• The specific board certification you are asking about.