The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s (ACCME), Committee for Review and Recognition selected the Oklahoma State Medical Association (OSMA) to receive the 2007 Rutledge W. Howard award for Collaboration between Accreditors and Providers. This prestigious award is only given to one state medical society every year.

This award recognizes state medical societies for their use of unique methods to develop productive working relationships with their providers. The Oklahoma State Medical Association with its strong leadership, dedication and commitment to CME, strives not only to educate CME Providers and keep them updated on any changes but also assist in their needs. OSMA’s collaboration with the Oklahoma Hospital Association, Oklahoma Board of Medical Licensure, Physicians Liability Insurance Company and the Oklahoma State Department of Health to identify physician practice gaps has allowed the OSMA CME Providers to focus continuing medical education in the areas that are most relevant for physicians in Oklahoma. Together this collaboration will help make Oklahoma stronger, healthier and will set precedence for improving the healthcare of all Oklahomans.

The Oklahoma State Medical Association has taken great pride and major steps in accomplishing these collaborative efforts between partners, stakeholders and CME Providers to ensure the evolving needs of the healthcare community, advance patient safety and improve the health status of all Oklahomans.

This award was presented at the 2007 ACCME State Medical Society Conference held on October 1st and 2nd in Atlanta, GA at the Georgian Terrace Hotel. Timothy Holder, MD, Chair of OSMA’s Accreditation Review Committee, Sandy Deeba, OSMA’s CME Manager and Melissa Johnson, OSMA, Director of Health Care Policy was present to accept the award.

Sandy Deeba shared and presented at the conference on behalf of the OSMA pearls on how “State Medical Societies Can Take the Lead in Collaboration.” Approximately 60 people were in attendance with 35 states represented. The Oklahoma State Medical Association was honored to receive this prestigious award from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education for their collaborative efforts with stakeholders and OSMA CME Providers. Information on this collaborative effort can be found on the OSMA website www.okmed.org and the ACCME website www.accme.org