Subspecialty Board Certification for Primary Liver Transplant Physicians

1. Subspecialty Board Certification for Primary Liver Transplant Physicians Membership and Professional Standards Committee

2. What problem will the proposal solve? • Bylaws require that a primary liver physician must have “current board certification in gastroenterology” • Increasingly common that liver transplant physicians let their gastro boards lapse while maintaining a transplant hepatology subspecialty board certification • Primary liver transplant physician applicants who are otherwise qualified are not approved by MPSC because they no longer have current board certification in gastroenterology

3. What are the proposed solutions? • Delete current gastroenterology board certification requirement • Replace with requirement that primary liver physician has either: • Current board certification in transplant hepatology • Current pediatric transplant hepatology certification of added qualification

4. Supporting Evidence • Proposal stems directly from recommendations developed by a Joint Societies Working Group (JSWG) • Collaborative effort between the American Society of Transplantation (AST), the American Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS), the North American Transplant Coordinators Organization (NATCO), and the MPSC • Requires board certification that more directly aligns with the functions of a primary liver transplant physician • JSWG members agreed that transplant hepatology board certification is prevalent across liver transplant programs

5. How will members implement this proposal? • No immediate action required of members • Membership applications received on or after the implementation date will be evaluated in consideration of these new requirements • Primary liver transplant physician applicants will be required to have either: • current board certification in transplant hepatology • current pediatric transplant hepatology certification of added qualification

6. How will the OPTN implement this proposal? • Board consideration- December 2016 • Programming – No • Federal government must approve updates to membership application forms • Implementation- MPSC will evaluate membership applications in consideration of these new requirements • Transition- changes do not impact current primary liver physicians • New requirements will be used to evaluate applications received on or after the implementation date

7. Questions? Jeffrey Orlowski, MS, CPTC Committee Chair Jorlowski@lifeshareok.org Chad Waller Committee Liaison chad.waller@unos.org