"Subchapter 32R" refers to the section within the North Carolina Administrative Code that outlines the mandatory Continuing Medical Education (CME) requirements for physicians practicing in the state, meaning all licensed doctors in North Carolina must complete a specific number of CME credits within a designated timeframe to maintain their medical license.
Key points about Subchapter 32R:
Credit requirement:
Physicians in North Carolina must complete 60 hours of Category 1 CME every 3 years.
Specialty relevance:
The CME credits must be relevant to the physician's current or intended area of practice.
Controlled substance prescribing mandate:
A portion of these CME hours must specifically address controlled substance prescribing practices.
Reporting to the Medical Board:
Physicians are required to report their completed CME credits to the North Carolina Medical Board.
SUBCHAPTER 32R – CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) REQUIREMENTS
SECTION .0100 – CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) REQUIREMENTS
21 NCAC 32R .0101 CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME) REQUIRED
(a) Continuing Medical Education (CME) is defined as education, training, and activities to increase knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of healthcare to the public. The purpose of CME is to maintain, develop, or improve the physician's knowledge, skills, professional performance, and relationships that physicians use to provide services for their patients, their practice, the public, or the profession.
(b) Each person licensed to practice medicine in the State of North Carolina, except those holding a residency training license, shall complete at least 60 hours of Category 1 CME relevant to the physician's current or intended specialty or area of practice every three years. Beginning on July 1, 2017, every physician who prescribes controlled substances, except those holding a residency training license, shall complete at least three hours of CME, from the required 60 hours of Category 1 CME, that is designed specifically to address controlled substance prescribing practices. The controlled substance prescribing CME shall include instruction on controlled substance prescribing practices, recognizing signs of the abuse or misuse of controlled substances, and controlled substance prescribing for chronic pain management.
(c) The three year period described in Paragraph (b) of this Rule begins on the physician's first birthday following initial licensure.
History Note: Authority G.S. 90-5.1(a)(3); 90-5.1(a)(10); 90-14(a)(15); S.L. 2015-241, s. 12F.16(b) and 12F.16(c);
Eff. January 1, 2000;
Amended Eff. August 1, 2012; January 1, 2001;
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A rule is necessary without substantive public interest Eff. March 1, 2016;
Amended Eff. September 1, 2016.
Source: https://www.ncmedboard.org/images/uploads/article_images/PhysicianCMERule-2016.pdf