The ABPM and ASAM Announce Four-Year Extension of the Practice Pathway for Addiction Medicine

The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) and the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) jointly announced today the American Board of Medical Specialties’ (ABMS) approval of a four-year extension of the practice pathway in Addiction Medicine. This extension will allow physicians with substantial experience in the practice of Addiction Medicine, but who have not completed an Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-accredited fellowship in Addiction Medicine, to apply for the Addiction Medicine certification exam through the 2025 Exam Cycle.

“We are very pleased that ABMS recognized the importance of continuing to expand the workforce of ABPM Certified Addiction Medicine specialists at this challenging time,” said ABPM Chair, Hernando “Joe” Ortega, Jr., MD, MPH.  “The opioid crisis our nation has been battling for several years has now been compounded by the pandemic and what will undoubtedly be its lingering effects well beyond 2020. The nation clearly has a critical need for board-certified physicians in Addiction Medicine.  ABPM is proud to work with ASAM and other stakeholders as we shepherd this important subspecialty through its formative years.  As the Graduate Medical Education training system works to establish a robust pipeline for Addiction Medicine subspecialists, this approval ensures that those physicians with extensive Addiction Medicine experience may seek the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge via ABPM’s rigorous certification process.”

ASAM President Paul Earley, MD, DFASAM, concurred saying, “ASAM appreciates that its strong working relationship and shared purpose with ABPM was instrumental in the successful extension of the ABPM’s practice pathway in Addiction Medicine.  The pandemic has not only increased the need for board certified specialists but has also prevented otherwise-qualified physicians from pursuing certification due to overwhelming COVID-19 related workloads. Extending the practice pathway an additional four years to allow more experienced physicians to obtain ABPM Certification was a crucial step in the continuing fight against addiction in the United States.”

The ABPM’s application cycle opens in the Spring of each year, with the final deadline to submit applications in mid-summer. The ABPM administers the certification exams once per year, in the Fall. For updated deadlines and exam dates, please refer to the ABPM website: www.theabpm.org.

The ABPM is an ABMS Member Board. Founded in 1948, ABPM works with the ABMS in the development of standards for the ongoing assessment and certification of over 12,000 physicians certified by the ABPM in the specialties of Aerospace Medicine, Occupational Medicine, and Public Health and General Preventive Medicine; and in the subspecialties of Addiction Medicine, Clinical Informatics, Medical Toxicology, and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medicine.