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News
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) is calling on the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) to eliminate procedural volume thresholds as a maintenance of certification requirement for interventional cardiologists. SCAI argues that case counts are an outdated, burdensome metric that doesn't reflect actual competency or improve patient safety. A survey of nearly 400 interventional cardiologists found that 73% believe volume requirements are unnecessary for patient safety.
SCAI is turning up the heat on the ABIM, calling for the elimination of procedural volume thresholds as part of the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process for interventional cardiologists. Currently, ABIM requires physicians to complete 100 PCIs or equivalent procedures over two years — a standard SCAI leaders say is outdated, administratively burdensome, and disconnected from actual clinical quality.
SCAI held a town hall and released a draft position statement arguing that modern competency tools — like hospital credentialing, peer review, outcomes registries, and Ongoing Professional Practice Evaluation (OPPE) — are far better measures of physician quality than raw procedure counts. The society also notes that no other ABIM-certified procedural specialty, including gastroenterology and electrophysiology, faces similar volume mandates.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: Scrapping volume thresholds could reduce barriers for experienced late-career physicians and those in rural or low-volume settings — ultimately improving patient access to interventional cardiology care without compromising quality.
