HONG
KONG
DOCTORS
UNION
Guidelines
for
CONTINUING
MEDICAL
EDUCATION
(MAY 2000 EDITION)
Name
Name in Chinese
CME Number
CME Cycle From
(Date of Commencement)
To
(Date of Completion)
5.5.2000
HONG
KONG
DOCTORS
UNION
LTD.
Room 901, Hang Shing Bldg., 363-373, Nathan Road, Kowloon
E-mail: hkdu@hkdu.org
Home Page: http://www.hkdu.org
Tel. no.: 2388 2728
Fax no.: 2385 5275
Guidelines for Accreditation of
Continuing Medical Education Programme
of Hong Kong Doctors Union
Introduction
1.1 Continuing Medical Education (CME) is the continuation of education for all practising doctors.
It is intended to :



keep Doctors informed and up-to-date through a great variety of means;
maintain standards, interest and enthusiasm in their practice;
promote their skills and professional competence; and
not as a linkage to practise license.
1.2 The Hong Kong Doctors Union Ltd. (HKDU) has planned a programme of CME for her
members to participate voluntarily. Any changes to the CME programme will be subjected to
the approval of the Quality Assurance and CME Committee of the HKDU before
implementation.
1.3 The HKDU accepts only ONE SYSTEM of CME and this applies to ALL her MEMBERS.
1.4 The HKDU encourages collaboration among doctors working in public and private practice.
CME ACTIVITIES
2.1 The HKDU accepts the following activities for accreditation :Category A : Local, Regional or International Activities

Active or passive participation in approved local, regional and international
scientific meetings, conferences, workshops, update courses, post-graduate lectures
and teach-ins, seminars and special HKDU functions.
Category B : Hospital, Institution or Group-based Activities

Active or passive participation in approved practice-related activities, such as grand
rounds, X-ray meetings, seminars, clinico-pathological conferences, journal clubs
and audio-visual viewing sessions.
Category C : Publications



Scientific publications in Hong Kong Medical Journal and others;
Publications of chapters and books;
Other publications.
Category D : Self-study with Assessment


Successful completion of HKDU conducted or approved self-study programmes.
CME in internet.
Cont…/P. 2
P. 2
2.2 HKDU does not accept the following activities for accreditation :1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
Research
Quality Assurance
Development of new technologies or services
Undergraduate and postgraduate teachings other than listed above
Attending committees
Non-clinical management activities
Accreditation System
3.1 In formulating the accreditation points, the following principles are adopted :




The system must be simple, fair, realistic, flexible, workable, user-friendly and
achievable.
All educational activities related to medical practice will be accredited, irrespective of
venue.
The basis of measurement of CME activities is one point, which is equivalent to one
hour of audience participation in a clinical meeting.
For point allocation, all other activities are compared with this basic point.
The following factors are all interlinked and are considered as a whole :1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Whether participation is active (as speaker or as chairman) or passive (as
audience). Active participation entails more work in preparation and is
awarded additional points.
Individual effort spent in such activities (e.g. number of hours spent, active or
passive participation, ...)
Importance of different activities (more weight is placed on focused activities
and those activities which may directly influence practice and outcome.)
To encourage members to have a broad scope of education and to maintain a
certain general standard of practice, minimum requirement and ceiling have
been declared on certain categories of activities.
To encourage the educational programme being continuing, annual minimum
requirement and ceiling have been set.
For the avoidance of doubt, accreditation will only be given once to each specific CME
activity.
3.2 Details of point allocation :Category A : Local, Regional and International Activities
A.1 Academic meetings organised by the HKDU, Colleges of various specialties and
other medical bodies will be considered by the QA and CME Committee for
accreditation. The points allocated will be published together with the notice of
meetings.
A.2 Members wishing to attend meetings organised by the Hong Kong Academy of
Medicine and its constituent colleges, professional societies/associations and
overseas institutions need to apply for approval and submit a copy of the
programme. Activities with relevance to general practice will surely be granted
accreditation.
Cont…/P. 3
P. 3
A.3 Point allocation :

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
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One point per hour of activity as passive audience participation
A maximum of 6 points for one whole day programme
A maximum of 3 points for a half-day programme
A maximum of 12 points for a meeting lasting for more than 2 days
Extra points (in addition to passive audience) will be awarded to :Oral presentation
2 extra points
Poster presentation
1 extra point
Special HKDU functions will be awarded points as assigned.
A.4 A minimum of 5 points per annum will be required in this Category.
Category B : Hospital, Institution or Group-based Activities
B.1 Approved practice related academic activities in private and public hospitals will be
accredited.
B.2 Practice related academic activities organised by Study Groups need prior approval
by the QA and CME Committee. Application for accreditation is required. Please
refer to Guidelines of Study Group. (Appendix 1)
B.3 Points allocation :





Passive audience participation - One point per hour of academic activity
A maximum of 6 points for one-day programme
A maximum of 3 points for a half-day programme
Extra points (in addition to passive audience) will be awarded to :Chairperson
1 extra point
Oral presentation of not less than 30 minutes
1 extra point
Category C : Publications
C.1 A maximum of 10 points per annum will be allowed in this Category
C.2 Only publications in the same year will be accepted
C.3 Points allocation :


Scientific publications in Hong Kong Medical Journal and others; 5/3 points*
Publications of chapters and books;
To be assigned
Other publications (prior approval required)
3/1 point(s)**
* 5 points for first author, 3 points for other authors.
** 3 points for first author, 1 point for other authors.
Category D : Self-study Programmes and others
D.1 HKDU may conduct her own self-study CME programme and award points as
assigned.
D.2 Members participating in other self-study programmes need to obtain prior approval
and will be accredited when completed diligently.
Cont…/P. 4
P. 4
D.3 Journal reading from a HKDU-approved list is an acceptable form of self-study.
(Appendix 2) Only articles published in the past one year will be accepted.
D.4 Approved CME activities within the HKDU website is an acceptable form of selfstudy. (Appendix 3)
D.5 Accreditation may be awarded for attending postgraduate courses designed for
general practitioners, e.g. Diploma courses and Master courses or courses organised
by HKDU with or without the cooperation with other academic bodies. Award is
normally given on completion of the course, unless the course lasts for more than 12
months and is taken and graded in sub-unites. Photocopies of transcripts must be
submitted with the application. The number of credit points awarded will be decided
by the QA and CME Committee only after individual application with a maximum
of 12 points per course.
D.6 Accreditation may be awarded for participating in health education for the public
e.g. talking to school children as a physician, writing newspaper articles or
appearing on television giving health education. The number of credit points
awarded will be decided by the QA and CME Committee only after individual
application with a maximum of 2 points per activity.
CME REQUIREMENTS
4.1 The CME activities will be measured in a cycle of 3 years.
4.2 The CME cycle commences at a date determined by HKDU. The HKDU will inform each
individual member the date of commencement, which will be recorded. A new cycle
commences at the conclusion of the previous one.
4.3 The HKDU requires each member to :


acquire at least 45 points in a 3-year cycle.
acquire at least 15 points (including a minimum of 5 points in Category A) in one year.
at least 15 points in a 3-year cycle from Category A activities.
4.4 The HKDU recommends each member to acquire at least 10 points in any single year.
4.5 The HKDU encourages all members to participate in as many programmes as feasible.
However to encourage the medical education being continuous, the HKDU has decided to
accept a maximum of 25 points per year.
REGISTRATION
5.1 All interested members have to register before the commencement of the cycle. Upon
registration, each member will be issued a CME number and printed forms to chart the details
of all activities he/she has attended.
5.2 On attending Category A activities, i.e. Academic meetings organised by the HKDU, Colleges
of various specialties and other medical bodies, each member has to sign an attendance sheet.
Cont…/P. 5
P. 5
5.3 Members attending Category A meetings other than those specified in item 5.2 should apply to
the QA and CME Committee at least 4 weeks before such meetings for approval. The letter of
approval and the certificate of attendance should be retained by the member for future
documentation.
5.4 For Category B activities, members should sign an attendance sheet.
5.5 For Category C activities, members should keep a copy of their publications and upon request
these should be sent to the QA and CME Committee for perusal.
5.6 For Category D activities other than journal reading from the approved list and approved
internet CME activities, members should submit their own plans and seek prior approval from
the QA and CME Committee.
5.7 Within one month from the end of each year, members have to submit a summary of their CME
activities to the QA and CME Committee.
5.8 Annually the QA and CME Committee will randomly review members' CME records.
Members so selected are required to supply full details and evidence of attendance for
documentation. The QA and CME Committee of HKDU will discuss and may investigate those
cases when CME points claimed cannot be substantiated by the evidence submitted.
CERTIFICATION
6.1 The QA and CME Committee of the HKDU is responsible for monitoring the whole CME
system and keeping detailed CME records.
6.2 Members who have achieved 15 points or above (including a minimum of 5 points in Category
A) in one year will receive a certificate issued by the HKDU upon payment of an
administrative fee.
6.3 The HKDU will issue a certificate upon payment of an administrative fee to registered
members who have completed a 3-year CME programme. The HKDU will maintain a Registry
of members who have been awarded certification.
Cont…/P. 6
P. 6
Appendix 1 :
Guidelines of Study Group
1.
Members can elect to join institutions or to form Study Groups to pursue Category B activities
of the CME programme.
2.
Each Study Group should comprise 5 or more members, among them one will act as the group
coordinator.
3.
All activities organised by Study Groups should be open to all members, subject to availability
of space.
4.
For accreditation purpose :







5.
Only the following activities, when related to general medical practice, will be considered for
accreditation :_






6.
Study Groups must be prior registered and approved by the QA and CME Committee
Only prior approved activities will be eligible for accreditation
Activities should be held regularly at pre-fixed venues
Activities attended by fewer than 5 members will not be accredited
Passive audience participation of an activity will be awarded 1 point per hour
The chairperson of an individual activity will be awarded 1 extra point
Active participation (presenting journals or case history) will be awarded 1 extra point
for a presentation not less than 30 minutes
Group coordinator will not be awarded any extra point
Journal meetings
Case presentations
Invited talks/presentations
X-ray meetings
Clinical pathological meetings
Audio-visual viewing sessions
Duties of Group Coordinator




Liaison with QA and CME Committee
Notify the QA and CME Committee of any change of meeting place, time or activity
Keep all signed attendance sheets for at least 3 years for perusal
Send copies of signed attendance to the secretariat of HKDU after every meeting
Appendix 2 :Accredited List of Journals
1.
2.
The Hong Kong Practitioner (Journal of HKCFP)
Hong Kong Journal of Paediatrics
Cont…/P. 7
P. 7
Appendix 3 :HKDU CME Website (http://www.hkdu.org/cme)
The HKDU will approve CME activities in the captioned HKDU CME Website or in the internet.
The following activities will be accredited: 1.
Video lecture: CME lectures organized by HKDU or other associations will be videotaped and put on CME
website for online browsing. After viewing the lecture in the internet, users can attempt the
MCQs for accreditation.
2.
Online CME programmes: These programmes will be developed in collaboration with local academic Colleges and
Societies. Update articles and internet links will be offered and accreditations will be
awarded after completion of MCQs online.
3.
Overseas CME programmes: Educational activities of overseas CME websites will be accredited subject to approval by our
QA and CME Committee. A list of accredited overseas CME websites will be published.
Guidelines for accreditations:
1 credit point for 1 hour work or equivalent.
1.
Video lecture:
1.5 credit point for 100% correct MCQ answers
1 credit point for 50% correct MCQ answers
2.
CME programmes with local academic bodies:
1.5 credit point for 100% correct MCQ answers
1 credit point for 50% correct MCQ answers
Further CME activities in the internet should get prior approval from the HKDU.
C1868o2000/Othercir4
5.5.2000
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