The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine and American Osteopathic Association have agreed to a framework to form a single accreditation system for physician-resident-training programs in the U.S.
The ACGME currently accredits some 9,300 residency programs training some 117,000 doctors—including almost 9,000 with Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine, or D.O., degrees. The AOA also accredits about 1,000 programs in which around 6,900 D.O.s train.
The AOA-accredited programs will transition to ACGME recognition and accreditation between July 1, 2015, and June 30, 2020. Osteopathic programs will continue their focus and two osteopathic review panels will be established to evaluate programs and set standards. The AOA and AACOM will become member organizations of the ACGME and will be represented on the ACGME governing board.