January 23, 2026 Update From ABCVM Leadership
Dear Colleagues,
The American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM) was founded with a bold vision: to recognize cardiovascular medicine as a distinct specialty and create a modern, holistic certification process that reflects the realities of clinical practice. Our goal has been to move beyond high-stakes, punitive exams toward a supportive, technology-driven approach that identifies knowledge gaps, integrates non-clinical competencies, and credits continuous improvement activities cardiologists already perform—all for the ultimate benefit of patients and the profession.
Despite strong support from the cardiology community and leading societies – including the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, Heart Failure Society of America, Heart Rhythm Society, and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions – the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) declined our application (Feb 2025) to establish an independent cardiovascular board. This decision raises critical questions about the future of certification. While ABMS allows for reapplication after two years, their failure to recognize cardiovascular medicine as a distinct specialty and reluctance to embrace modern competency models makes a clear path forward uncertain.
Where We Stand Today
Currently, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) remains the sole recognized certifying body for cardiovascular medicine. ABIM offers initial certification and maintenance pathways, such as the 10-year examination, Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment (LKA), and Collaborative Maintenance Pathway (CMP). While these options represent incremental progress, they continue to rely on static, pass/fail knowledge tests that overlook practice-specific skills, non-clinical competencies, and quality improvement efforts. Although ABIM has expressed interest in modernization, collaboration with ABCVM has not materialized.
Exploring Alternatives
The ABCVM Board of Directors* continues to evaluate partnerships with organizations, such as the National Board of Physician and Surgeons, the American Board of Physician Specialties, and the American Osteopathic Association, to accelerate innovation. However, differences in scale, resources, recognition, and philosophy limited these options. We remain committed to identifying viable pathways that align with our mission: creating a competency model that is formative, personalized, and integrated into daily practice.
The Future of Competency Assessment
Clinical competency demands continuous, adaptive assessment tailored to specialty, practice focus, and patient outcomes. Leveraging AI, data analytics, and real-time feedback can transform certification from episodic testing to ongoing professional development. This evolution requires collaboration among societies, certifying bodies, payers, regulators, and clinicians, along with a shared commitment to measuring impact on patient care and physician experience. A “lifelong learning portfolio” of competency would provide an opportunity for each cardiologist, from training to retirement, to identify and fill knowledge gaps and catalog multi-source data specific to their practice setting. We owe this to our patients and to the profession.
Our Commitment
Through our due diligence, we have exposed and highlighted many challenges and road blocks to innovation while learning a lot along the way: we have united the leading cardiology societies and the entire profession around a noble cause; we have clearly articulated what is broken or mis-aligned and presented a sound approach for improvement; we have moved forward the evolution of cardiovascular medicine, independent from internal medicine; we have continued to fight for what is right and evidence-based; and we now better understand the obstacles in our way. The ABCVM will continue to advocate for a fresh approach that welcomes alternative assessments of clinical competency. We are living in uncertain times, yet our mission remains clear: to provide the best patient care possible with physicians who demonstrate continued competence in clinical cardiology.
Thank you for your unwavering support as we navigate these challenges. Together, we will shape a certification model that reflects the excellence and complexity of cardiovascular medicine.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey Kuvin, MD, ABCVM President
Srihari S. Naidu, MD, MSCAI, SCAI President
*American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine Board of Directors: Jeffrey Kuvin (President), Mark Drazner (Treasurer), Jodie Hurwitz (Secretary), Katie Berlacher, Renee Bullock-Palmer, Peter Duffy, David Faxon, Edward Fry, Judith Hochman, Esther Kim, Michelle Kittleson, Daniel Kolansky, Gregory Michaud, William Roach, Karen Stout
February 28, 2025 Update from SCAI President James B. Hermiller, MD, MSCAI
We are profoundly disappointed that the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) denied our application to establish an independent board for cardiovascular medicine, the American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM). This decision ignores the evolution of cardiovascular medicine as a distinct specialty and disregards the overwhelming support from the cardiovascular community for a new, modernized approach to certification.
Despite a strong, evidence-based application—which aligned with ABMS’s own updated Standards for Continuing Certification and demonstrated both financial viability and professional backing—ABMS has chosen to uphold the outdated status quo rather than embracing needed reforms.
The proposed ABCVM board was designed to:
- Promote lifelong professional development over punitive, costly exams.
- Reflect modern cardiovascular practice by setting specialty-specific competency standards.
- Provide a more sustainable, cost-effective certification pathway for cardiovascular professionals.
While this decision is a setback, our fight is far from over. Alongside our partner societies—the ACC, AHA, HFSA, and HRS—SCAI remains committed to advocating for a better, more relevant certification process that supports the needs of today’s cardiovascular specialists.
The ABCVM Board of Directors is actively reviewing next steps and expects ABMS to listen to feedback from the cardiovascular community. In the coming weeks, we will be engaging with SCAI members and leadership to explore all possible paths forward to ensure a modernized, fair, and meaningful certification process.
You can read the full statement on the decision here.
Thank you for your dedication to the field and your patients. We will keep you informed as we navigate this next phase together.
Sincerely,
James B. Hermiller, MD, MSCAI
SCAI President
September 21, 2023 Update
In August 2023, SCAI issued a statement addressing ongoing concern and confusion around how the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) maintenance of certification (MOC) process ties directly into certification status for interventional cardiologists. SCAI felt strongly that this confusion could endanger the certified status of its members in a haphazard fashion, which would inevitably impact patient care. The statement was meant to support and advocate for our members, trainees, and patients at a critical juncture while we contemplated next steps to improve accountability and transparency in the certification process.
To that end, SCAI, The American College of Cardiology (ACC), Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) and Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) are working together to develop a formal application to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), the parent body of ABIM, for a new American Board of Cardiovascular Medicine (ABCVM). This new entity would be an independent, self-governed body, by and for cardiologists, and committed to a streamlined, transparent, and accountable process of initial and ongoing certification.
What does this mean for you? If approved by the ABMS:
- Certification status will not be tied directly to annual MOC participation and fees, but rather, there will be a fully transparent 5-year cycle to ensure ongoing certification of members via a positive, not punitive, process;
- The new board will be directed by cardiologists, with the initial board composed of 2 directors from each professional society, introducing accountability to the cardiovascular community and the patients we serve;
- SCAI will be one of the societies responsible for drafting and approving the ABMS Application, including its governing bylaws;
- Streamlining certification to enable a more automatic process of CME documentation at a time of high burnout means our members have more time to focus on patient care and work-life balance;
- A positive focus on getting all certified physicians to remain certified, rather than a negative focus on trying to find those that shouldn’t be certified.
Now is the time to change how and by whom competency in cardiovascular medicine is assessed! SCAI, HRS, HFSA, and the ACC believe this new board is the answer. To that end, we are excited to announce the submission of this formal application to the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS), requesting that a new cardiovascular board of medicine become a reality. ABMS remains the only authority universally recognized by the public, regulators, and payers for ongoing physician certification in the U.S.
Over the coming weeks, we will be posting a number of informational videos, FAQs, and other activities at CVBoard.org that will explain the ABMS application process and answer preliminary questions about what the new Board could look like and how we envision it will replace the current "Maintenance of Certification" process with a pathway for continuous certification and competency, including:
- A dedicated Heart to Heart Presidential Discussion recorded on September 27, hosted by ACC President Hadley Wilson, MD, FACC, along with SCAI President George Dangas, MD, PhD, MSCAI; HRS President Jodie L. Hurwitz, MD, FHRS; and HFSA Immediate Past President Mark Drazner, MD, MSc, FHFSA; and others, discussing the collaboration and next steps.
- Applying for a New ABMS Cardiovascular Board, recorded on November 14, also hosted by Hadley Wilson, MD, FACC, and ACC President, with SCAI President George Dangas, MD, PhD, MSCAI; America Heart Association President Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, FAHA, and others, discussing why this change is necessary for the cardiovascular profession and the patients that it serves.
Tune in to CVBoard.org for updated information.