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Helping ensure your organization's physicians are receiving CME that meets our high standards of excellence.

CME Provider Services

The WSMA is recognized by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide a voluntary interstate accreditation program for organizations that provide activities for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. The WSMA has partnered with the Hawaii Medical Association to form the PacWest Continuing Education Accreditation Collaborative. Under this collaboration, PacWest accredits organizations in Washington, Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and Oregon.

CME is central to life-long learning and professional development to which physicians and the WSMA are committed. Through its accreditation program, the WSMA through the PacWest collaborative seeks to assure physicians and the public that CME activities presented by accredited providers meet the high standards adopted by the association and by the ACCME.

CME Accreditation Service

The WSMA offers CME accreditation services to numerous providers meeting our high standards of quality. Specifically, our CME Accreditation Committee is charged with:

  • Monitoring the administration of the mandatory continuing medical education requirements of the Washington Medical Commission.
  • Evaluating and accrediting providers of intrastate Category 1 continuing medical education programs.
  • Representing the WSMA in its professional role to assure that appropriate needs assessment programs are carried out on behalf of its members; that its members are encouraged to participate in the full spectrum of continuing medical education activities; that they are assisted by the WSMA in becoming acquainted with the extent of those opportunities; and that the WSMA assists in evaluation of the same.
  • Advising the Washington Medical Commission (formerly the Medical Quality Assurance Commission) on medical education, continuing medical education, licensure and other issues as directed by the WSMA Board of Trustees or Executive Committee.

Purpose of accreditation

Accreditation is the set standard to ensure quality continuing medical education activities are planned, implemented, and evaluated in accordance with all WSMA policies, the ACCME accreditation requirements and policies and Standards for Independence and Integrity in Accredited Continuing Education.

If you have questions about WSMA CME Accreditation Service, contact Kendra Peterson, director of continuing medical education and professional development, at kendra@wsma.org or 206.956.3638.

Initial Accreditation

Eligibility to apply for PacWest accreditation

Organizations planning on applying for “initial accreditation” must meet the following requirements:

  • Have an organizational structure with a significant level of physician governance.
  • Have a dedicated planning and approval process.
  • Have a target audience with no more than 30 percent out of the scope of PacWest'spurview as an accrediting body (currently Washington State, Alaska, American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, and Oregon) or bordering states. Should more than 30 percent be from out of state the organization may need to seek accreditation directly from the ACCME.
  • Plan, implement and evaluate at least two CME activities within the 24-month period prior to the submission of materials for initial accreditation, or two activities which meet all accreditation criteria and standards.
  • Demonstrate an overall organizational commitment to the CME program, including physician support, budget support, staffing, staff continued education and record-keeping resources.
  • Not be an ineligible company. An “ineligible company” is defined by the ACCME as any company whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing healthcare products used by or on patients.

Expectations of PacWest-accredited providers

Pre-applicants and accredited providers are expected to:

  • Demonstrate compliance with all PacWest and ACCME accreditation requirements.
  • Evaluate the overall CME program on a regular basis for compliance with the accreditation requirements and make changes as necessary.
  • Submit on-time ACCME annual reporting data.
  • Submit on-time WSMA annual or interim reporting data (dependent on level of accreditation).
  • Inform WSMA of any changes to program size, content, structure, staff support or administration.
  • Submit on-time any Progress Report or Plan required by the CME Accreditation Committee.
  • Payment of certain fees to obtain and retain accreditation.

Type of organizations and institutions eligible for accreditation

PacWest accredits the following organizations and institutions:

  • Community hospitals which provide continuing medical education activities for hospital medical staffs and physicians in the local community;
  • Medical organizations which do not have national administrative scope: e.g., regional, statewide, county, or other local societies;
  • Local units of voluntary health organizations not under national administration for their continuing medical education;
  • Any other organizations and institutions, which provide or produce continuing medical education program for physicians, which are essentially local in nature. An applicant might also be a major unit of an institution, i.e., the department of radiology of a major medical center.

See the ACCME’s page about eligibility for a full list of eligible and ineligible organizations.

Instructions for initial applicants

The first steps in becoming a PacWest-accredited CME provider are to complete the pre-application form for initial CME accreditation and submit the pre-application fee (see Fees section on this page). Please fill out the form and email to Kendra Peterson, Director of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development. Mail the pre-application fee to:

WSMA
c/o Kendra Peterson, CHCP
Director of Continuing Medical Education & Professional Development
1215 4th Ave. Suite 1901
Seattle, WA 98161

The purpose of the pre-application is for the committee to determine if your organization is eligible for CME accreditation by explaining the mechanisms in place to meet the WSMA policies and guidelines.

Once approved, your organization will receive instructions for submitting an initial accreditation application. PacWest accredits providers on a “cohort” system. Providers are divided into one of three cohorts. Your due date will be based on the next available cohort. Once accredited, all future re-applications, annual reporting and accreditation fees will be based on that cohort’s expiration dates. In order to find out which cohort your organization can apply for, please contact Kendra Peterson at kendra@wsma.org, or 206.956.3638.

Accreditation Materials

If your organization is currently accredited by PacWest and you are seeking re-accreditation, you will receive a notice of re-accreditation approximately 12 months from your current term expiration date.

Cohort   Expiration date   Survey
1   March 31   November–January
2   July 31   February–May
3   November 30   June–October

Application materials for March 2022 and Onward Re-accreditation Cohort

Accreditation Process

The accreditation process consists of three portions: submission of the narrative Self-Study; submission of Performance-in-Practice (PIP) activity files; and an accreditation interview.

Self-Study

The self-study is intended to address two major components of accreditation:

  • A record of your CME program’s compliance with accreditation requirements, including the Accreditation Criteria, the Standards for Integrity and Independence, and policies. When conducting your self-study, your organization will be asked to describe its past and current performance in meeting the ACCME’s criteria for compliance with each of the accreditation requirements. You will also provide evidence to demonstrate compliance.
  • An analysis on the degree to which your organization is meeting its CME mission and the identification and implementation of changes in the overall program that are required to improve on your organization’s ability to meet the CME mission. Your plans for improvement might relate to fixing identified problems with compliance. They might also relate to changes your organization would like to make as a result of factors in the CME environment. Improvement plans reflect the vision and values of your CME program and frame your program’s process for identifying the need for, and implementing, change.

Providers submit the self-study using an outline provided by PacWest. The self-study outline is available in the Accreditation Materials menu.

Performance-In-Practice (PIP) Review

PIP files allow accredited providers and applicants to demonstrate compliance at the CME activity level. Accredited providers submit their CME activity data for their accreditation term in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Based on the data provided, PacWest will select up to 15 activities to review. Providers are accountable for demonstrating performance-in-practice for all the activities selected using a structured abstract. The PIP structured abstract is available in the Accreditation Materials menu.

Once PacWest has received your self-study application and PIP files they will be reviewed by PacWest staff. Staff will notify you should any items be missing from the application.

The next step in the accreditation process is an accreditation interview. You will be required to submit at least five dates in the range dictated by your cohort. PacWest staff will work to find surveyors from the CME Accreditation Committee to volunteer to review your CME program. You will be notified when a date has been chosen.

Accreditation Interview

The purpose of an accreditation interview is to gather or clarify information about your CME program according to the submitted written materials. The survey team is comprised of volunteers serving on the CME accreditation committee and PacWest staff. You can expect surveyors to be professional, courteous, and familiar with your CME program.

Surveyors will use the three elements of the accreditation process to gain a comprehensive view of the program in its entirety. Surveyors are only fact-gatherers, they do not give an accreditation decision at the time of the survey. After the interview, surveyors will report their findings to the CME Accreditation Committee, which meets three times a year. The committee will make an accreditation decision and you will then be notified of your new accreditation status.

Provider Education

Policies and Requirements

Download and review the WSMA CME policies and accreditation requirements (updated August 2023).

WSMA accredited providers are responsible for abiding by AMA requirements to award AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) .

Accreditation Statement

The WSMA oversees the PacWest Continuing Education Accreditation Collaborative (PacWest), which accredits organizations in Alaska, American Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, Oregon, and Washington. In the accreditation statement, accredited providers may use the name of different State Medical Societies (SMS) in the accreditation statement:

  • Washington State Medical Association: Alaska, Oregon, Washington
  • Hawaii Medical Association: American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii

 

Directly Provided Accreditation Statement:

The [name of accredited provider] is accredited by the [SMS Name] to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Jointly Provided Accreditation Statement:

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the [SMS Name] through the joint providership of [insert name of accredited provider] and [name of non-accredited provider]. The [name of accredited provider] is accredited by the [SMS Name] to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Washington State providers may include this additional statement for the Washington Medical Commission:

This activity meets the criteria for up to ___ hours of Category I CME credit to satisfy the relicensure requirements of the Washington State Medical Quality Assurance Commission.

AMA Credit Designation Statement

The [name of accredited provider] designates this [type of educational activity*] activity for a maximum of ____ AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

*Types of educational activities:
The types of educational activities are designated by the AMA, and include:

  1. Live activity
  2. Enduring material
  3. Journal-based CME activity
  4. Test item writing activity
  5. Manuscript review activity
  6. Performance improvement (or PI) CME activity
  7. Internet point-of-care activity
  8. Other activity (brief explanation)

Non-physician Statement

Accredited providers may provide non-physician learners with a record of attendance using this language:

The [name of accredited provider] certifies that [name of non-physician participant] has participated in the [learning format] titled [title of activity] [at location, when applicable] on [date]. This activity was designated for [number of credits] AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.

For policy or accreditation requirement questions, please contact Kendra Peterson, associate director of education and accreditation, at kendra@wsma.org or 206.956.3638.

CME Accreditation Fees

CME accreditation fees

Pre-application fee: $500
Initial accreditation fee: $4,500
Late fee: $500
Progress report fee: $1,500
Annual accreditation fee: See below

PacWest Annual Accreditation Fee Structure

Beginning in 2026, PacWest will implement a tiered accreditation fee in addition to the ACCME’s tiered system. Tiers range from Tier 1 through Tier 5, based on the number of activities or learners, whichever is greater, over the previous 3 years of Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) data. The PacWest annual accreditation fee is a combination of PacWest’s fee plus the ACCME’s passthrough fee for state medical society accredited providers.

ACCME Tiered Fee Structure

The ACCME uses a five-tier fee structure. It ranges from Tier 1, comprising the smallest CME programs, to Tier 5, comprising the largest CME programs. Program size is based on the average number of activities or learner interactions, whichever is greater, over the past three years. The ACCME uses data that CME providers enter into PARS over the previous 3 reporting years to assign tiers for their annual accreditation fees. If your organization is newly accredited, the ACCME uses data from the most current year to determine your tier.

The ACCME updates fees periodically. See the table below for the ACCME’s 2025 fees for State Medical Society accredited providers. ACCME fees for 2026 are subject to change.

ACCME 2025 Tiered Fees

Tier Average
Activities
Per year
Average Learner
Interactions Per
Year
ACCME Fee for
State-Accredited
Providers 2025
ACCME-
Accredited
Providers 2025
Fee*
1 <43 <4,466 $950 $6,825
2 44-145 4,466-15,422 $1,200-
8,519
$7,350
3 136-905 15,423-164,727 $1,750-
43,687
$8,400
4 906-1906 164,728-634,356 $3,400 $11,550
5 >1906 >634,356 $5,250 $15,750

* For comparison purposes only. Demonstrates that PacWest makes CME accreditation as affordable as possible by consistently charging lower fees than the ACCME.

PacWest Implementation

The PacWest annual fee is a combination of the PacWest tiered fee plus the ACCME’s tiered fee. Looking ahead, we anticipate that the PacWest fee will increase by a rate of approximately 3% each year. The PacWest total accreditation fee continues to be significantly lower than fees for ACCME-accredited providers.

PacWest Tiered Fees

Tier Average Learner
Interactions Per
Year
Average Activities
Per Year
2026 PacWest Annual Fee
1 0 - 1000 <10 $2,500
2 1001 - 5000 11-50 $3,250
3 5001 - 10,000 51-100 $4,000-
43,687
4 10,001 - 15,000 101 - 200 $3,400
5 >15,001 >201 $5,000

Accreditation Fee Formula:

PacWest Tiered Fee + ACCME Tiered Fee = Total Fee Charged to Accredited Providers

For questions about your organization’s tier, please contact Kendra Peterson, CHCP, at kendra@wsma.org or 206.956.3638.



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