To protect the best interest of all parties, the California Medical Association’s (CMA) CME team (CMA CME) generally limits communications to authorized contact persons identified by the provider. It is very important to ensure that your organization’s contact information is current and accurate.

CMA CME uses the following contact categories, which includes a required primary contact for all organizations. Please select at least one of the other contact categories in the below list for your additional PARS contact. Multiple additional contacts are allowed and encouraged.

• Primary Contact (Required): This person receives all official communications and is our first point of contact for any questions or issues related to your organization’s accreditation. Each organization is required to designate one person as the primary contact.
• Billing Contact (Optional): This person receives invoices and other payment-related information. If you do not designate a billing contact, we will send invoices to the primary contact.
• CEO Contact (Optional): This person serves in an executive leadership role and is ultimately responsible for the organization's accredited CME program.
• Staff (Optional): Use this field to enter anyone who you want to have access to your organization’s records in PARS. This is typically an employee of the accredited CME provider.
• Medical Director (Optional): Use this field to identify the person who serves in a medical leadership capacity and oversees strategic operations at your organization.

A provider may review and make necessary changes to their organization’s contact information in the ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). ACCME and CMA consider the names and contact information for providers accredited by both the ACCME and recognized state medical societies to be public information, and provides lists of these names to the public, accordingly.

Note that CMA requires at least one contact be an employee of the accredited organization.

If a CMA accredited provider undergoes a corporate change, resulting, for instance, from a merger or acquisition, CMA expects to be made aware of the change as soon as possible so that CMA can work through the transition with the organization.

Keep in mind that CMA accreditation was awarded to the organization that sought the accreditation and was able to demonstrate compliance with accreditation requirements. For this reason, an organization cannot become an accredited provider by purchasing or merging with an organization that is already accredited.

Similarly, when an accredited provider undergoes significant organizational change, for example, becoming owned by an ineligible company then CMA considers the provider to be significantly different than the organization that was accredited. CMA will expect the provider to cease providing CME as a CMA accredited provider. CMA will set a date of Nonaccreditation for these providers. CMA’s Corporate Structure Review process is in place to assist organizations in determining whether they may be an ineligible company. Click here for more information regarding eligibility.

CMA will also withdraw a provider’s accreditation if the provider is dissolved or ceases to exist because of a merger, acquisition or dissolution.

When two or more accredited providers merge, CMA will consider that all but one of the accredited providers will cease to exist as an entity. The name of the remaining provider may be changed to reflect or include the name(s) of the former provider(s). The remaining provider must assume responsibility for unfinished CME activities and/or unexpired enduring materials of the provider(s) with which it merged and must maintain activity registration records for six years for the provider(s) with which it merged.

CMA considers the names of providers that are no longer accredited due to corporate change to be public information, and provides lists of these names to the public, accordingly.

New providers created through corporate change must submit a pre-application as a first step towards initial CMA accreditation.

A provider that wishes to voluntarily withdraw from CMA accreditation must notify CMA in writing of its intent to do so, indicating the specific date when withdrawal is to become effective and providing a brief explanation of the reason for withdrawal.

CMA will immediately discontinue the process leading to a reaccreditation decision upon receipt of notification of intent to withdraw.

Payment of the annual fee and completion of year-end reporting requirements for the final year of accreditation is necessary to maintain accreditation in any portion of a calendar year after notification of withdrawal.

After the effective date of withdrawal:

1. The organization will no longer be accredited;
2. The organization’s name will be removed from the ACCME’s list of accredited providers; and
3. The organization may not use the CMA accreditation statement in association with any CME activity, either currently in circulation or planned for presentation or distribution.

It is CMA’s expectation that accredited providers will plan and execute withdrawal from CMA accreditation in a manner that meets all obligations and commitments to learners, educational partners, and all other stakeholders.

Organizations may apply for CMA accreditation at any time after withdrawal. The organization’s application will be reviewed with the same considerations applied to other initial applicants and under the policies and requirements in effect at that time.