Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, the first educational provider in Korea to be awarded ‘ACCME Full Accreditation’

Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine (Medical Director Dr. Jinho Lee) is the first continuing medical education (CME) provider in Korea to receive ‘Full Accreditation’ from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) in the United States. Through full accreditation status, healthcare professionals in developed Western countries, including US physicians, can maintain their medical licenses by participating in CME activities provided by Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine.

ACCME is a non-profit organization that sets educational standards for CME activities with the goal of enhancing professional competency of the 950,000 active healthcare professionals based in the US, and driving improvements in patient care. To this end, ACCME also manages and supervises the CME programs provided by ACCME-accredited medical institutions. The accreditation duration period is until July 2025, and ACCME makes reaccreditation decisions for full accreditation institutions every 4 years.

Currently, there are a total of 13 CME providers accredited by the ACCME outside the United States. Among them, only four organizations around the world including Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine in Korea have obtained full accreditation, allowing Jaseng to become the first and only hospital in Korea to receive recognition from the ACCME. In particular, it is expected that the impact on and implications for domestic medical communities will be substantial in that the Integrative Medicine education method of a domestic medical institution combining Korean and Western allopathic medicine has been acknowledged with full accreditation.

For quality management of CME programs, the ACCME examines suitability for full accreditation using 13 core accreditation criteria, including criteria on evidence-based education, effectiveness of education, potential for improving physician competency, and whether educational topics are selected based on required needs in actual clinical practice. The ACCME maintains strict standards to the extent that approval is not granted if any of these 13 accreditation criteria are not met. As such, through full accreditation, Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine has demonstrated its capability to act as a competent CME provider fully meeting international standards.

CME programs accredited by the ACCME are not only recognized in the United States, but also by other international medical organizations such as the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME) and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC). Overall, it covers around 30 countries across the globe.

Meanwhile, since July 2019, Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine has been providing CME programs for domestic and international healthcare professionals after being awarded a two-year term of ‘Provisional Accreditation’ by the ACCME which is granted to newly accredited CME providers. Along with active investment in the development of online distance education from the early stages of education provision, recent reforms in educational contents have been additionally made through the complete transition to online learning in line with the contact-free movements following the outbreak of COVID-19. At the same time, its educational infrastructure, including establishment of a comprehensive online database and platform for issuing education credits, has been strengthened.

Through this international recognition, Jaseng plans to contribute to quality improvement and development of the medical education industry in the East Asian region. Also, regarding further development of medical education systems, Jaseng expects to establish an international bridgehead by sharing its know-how regarding provision of medical education adhering to ACCME guidelines and spearheading organization of joint education activities in cooperation with leading domestic and international medical institutions.

“Becoming fully accredited by the ACCME is meaningful in that Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine, a leading medical institution at the forefront of standardization and scientific advancement of Korean medicine, has joined the ranks of the world’s leading educational institutions,” comments Dr. Joon-Shik Shin, honorary chairman of Jaseng Medical Foundation. “Jaseng will reinvent itself as an educational institution setting global medical education trends by not only laying solid foundations for globalization of Jaseng’s unique non-invasive treatments, but also continuously providing latest and up-to-date medical knowledge and education in the midst of rapid advancements and evolution of treatment methods and technology.”