ACCME
ACCME is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 1981 that accredits institutions providing continuing medical education to physicians, serving over 2,000 providers across medical schools, specialty societies, and healthcare organizations through its PARS platform and CME Passport portal.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersChicago, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ACCME does
ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) is a nonprofit corporation founded in 1981 and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. It operates as the primary U.S. accreditation body for institutions that provide continuing medical education (CME) to physicians and other healthcare professionals, enforcing a voluntary peer-review system governed by its Criteria, Standards for Integrity and Independence, and Policies. Its customer base spans over 2,000 accredited providers including medical schools, state medical societies, national physician membership organizations, medical specialty societies, and healthcare delivery organizations, with accredited CME accepted by all U.S. state medical licensing boards and recognized in 30+ countries through WFME.
The core technology platform is PARS (Program and Activity Reporting System), a centralized web-based database that supports manual entry, Excel batch uploads, XML batch uploads via the MedBiquitous MEMS standard, and JSON-based web services APIs for LMS integration. CME Passport serves as the physician-facing credit monitoring portal with automatic reporting to collaborating licensing and certifying boards. ACCME Academy, the CME Provider Directory, Events Calendar, and the annual Learn to Thrive meeting and Accreditation Workshop round out the product portfolio. Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education extends the framework to team-based CE across health professions.
Revenue is generated through accreditation fees (pre-application, initial, reaccreditation, progress reports) and recurring annual provider fees from the 2,000+ accredited organizations. The organization employs 11-50 people and operates as a lean nonprofit, with reported engagement of 250,000 accredited educational activities and 22 million physician interactions in 2024. Distribution is direct via the accreditation process and self-serve through PARS and CME Passport, with state medical societies serving as colleague accreditors for community-level providers.
ACCME firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ACCME
- Legal name
- Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
- Website
- https://accme.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- ACCME is a Chicago-based nonprofit founded in 1981 that accredits institutions providing continuing medical education to physicians, serving over 2,000 providers across medical schools, specialty societies, and healthcare organizations through its PARS platform and CME Passport portal.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ACCME industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Medical Education Accreditation
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Programmatic Accreditors (Discipline/Profession-Specific) (EDADACAC), Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)
Keywords
Where ACCME is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chicago
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
ACCME business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Accreditation Fees: ACCME charges fees for the accreditation process including pre-application fees, initial accreditation fees, reaccreditation fees, and progress report fees. These fees fund the organization's operations as a nonprofit accreditation body.
- Annual Provider Fees: Accredited CME providers pay annual fees as part of their accreditation agreement to maintain their accredited status within the ACCME System.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Pre-Application Fee |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Initial Accreditation Fee |
| Subscription | Annual | Annual Provider Agreement |
| One time/ perpetual license | Multi-year contract | Progress Report Fee |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels13 records
ACCME product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ACCME is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and based in Chicago, IL, that accredits institutions and organizations offering continuing medical education (CME) to physicians and other healthcare professionals. It operates technology platforms including PARS (Program and Activity Reporting System) for accredited providers and CME Passport for physicians to monitor earned credits, while enforcing Standards for Integrity and Independence in accredited CME through a voluntary peer-review system.
Product overview
ACCME is a nonprofit organization that operates a unified accreditation system for continuing medical education. The core portfolio consists of PARS (the Program and Activity Reporting System) as the primary data management platform for accredited providers, CME Passport as the physician-facing credit tracking portal, ACCME Academy for educational development, the CME Provider Directory, and Events Calendar for training/workshops. ACCME Academy and Certificate Programs support professional development, while Learn to Thrive (annual meeting) and the Accreditation Workshop provide in-person training. The accreditation framework includes Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education, Accreditation with Commendation (six-year term), and the comprehensive Rules (Criteria, Standards, Policies) governing CME providers. Together, these products form an integrated ecosystem for accrediting, reporting, and improving continuing medical education.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- PARS (Program and Activity Reporting System) Online reporting platform used by ACCME-accredited CME providers to enter, manage, and submit activity and credit data, enabling centralized tracking of physician participation in accredited CME.
- CME Passport Personalized dashboard for physicians and healthcare professionals to monitor CME/MOC credits earned through ACCME-accredited activities, reducing the administrative burden of tracking multiple provider certificates.
- ACCME Academy Online learning platform providing educational resources, self-study courses, and training materials designed to help CME providers understand and meet ACCME accreditation requirements.
- CME Provider Directory Public directory enabling physicians and other stakeholders to search for and identify ACCME-accredited CME providers.
- Events Calendar Public-facing calendar listing CME events, accreditation workshops, and educational opportunities for providers and physicians.
- Accreditation Workshop Educational workshop designed to help prospective and current CME providers understand ACCME's accreditation process, requirements, and Standards for Integrity and Independence.
- Learn to Thrive Educational initiative supporting CME provider professional development through curated resources, learning activities, and self-assessment.
- Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education Multi-professional accreditation framework that allows organizations to offer continuing education for multiple healthcare professions (medicine, nursing, pharmacy, etc.) through a single accreditation process.
- Accreditation with Commendation Highest tier of ACCME accreditation awarded for a six-year term to CME providers that demonstrate compliance with commendation criteria for educational excellence and leadership.
- CE Educator's Toolkit Resource toolkit providing continuing education educators with practical tools and guidance for planning, designing, and evaluating accredited educational activities.
- Certificate Programs Structured certificate offerings within ACCME Academy that enable CME providers to demonstrate proficiency in specific accreditation-related competencies.
Quantifiable outcome
- 250,000 accredited educational activities and 22 million physician interactions reported in 2024
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use ACCME
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ACCME technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature2 records
ACCME partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™coreACCME is a founding member of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™, which established the first standards for continuing education planned by the team, for the team. This framework has become a national and international model for promoting the development of IPCE programs specifically designed to improve interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) in healthcare delivery.
- State Medical SocietiescoreACCME collaborates with US state and territory medical societies to facilitate the accreditation of local CME providers and support community-based CME for clinicians. These societies serve as ACCME-recognized accreditors.
- World Federation for Medical Education (WFME)coreACCME is among the first four organizations recognized by the World Federation for Medical Education's CPD Recognition Programme. This international recognition establishes substantive equivalency framework based on shared principles.
- State Medical Licensing BoardscoreAll state medical licensing boards have access to CME credit data reported for their licensees through ACCME's centralized reporting system. Physicians no longer need to self-report or send transcripts to boards - credits are automatically shared.
- Certifying BoardscoreACCME's centralized reporting system is available to collaborating certifying boards. Physicians do not need to report CME or MOC credits to certifying boards that collaborate with ACCME.
- International AccreditorscoreACCME works collaboratively with healthcare leaders and other stakeholders around the world to respond to the changing health environment and leverage the power of education to improve care for patients. This includes advancing education addressing clinician well-being to public health priorities.
- American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Member BoardscoreACCME collaborates with certifying boards including ABMS member boards to enable accredited CME providers to register activities for MOC through PARS. This simplifies the process for physicians to earn MOC credits through accredited CME.
- Innovation PartnersminorSelect group of accredited CME/CE providers who play a key role in advancing a national system for seamless credit reporting. These partners help pilot and test new features and processes in the ACCME system.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ACCME competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP): AAFP operates its own CME credit system (AAFP Prescribed Credit) accredited by the AAFP Commission on Continuing Medical Education. It is a parallel CME accreditor and credit-issuing body serving family physicians, comparable to ACCME as a CME governance organization.
- American Osteopathic Association (AOA): The AOA accredits osteopathic continuing medical education (AOA Category 1-A and 1-B) as a parallel system to ACCME. It serves as the analogous accreditation body for DOs and is directly comparable as a physician-specialty CME accreditor.
- American Medical Association (AMA): AMA owns the AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ system, which is the dominant physician CME credit designation in the US. It collaborates with ACCME for credit designation and represents a closely related CME standards/credit authority.
- World Federation for Medical Education (WFME): WFME recognizes accreditors worldwide through its CPD Recognition Programme and is a strategic partner of ACCME. It functions as an umbrella/meta-accreditor and is directly comparable as a governing authority in medical education accreditation.
- American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS): ABMS member boards collaborate with ACCME to enable MOC credit through accredited CME. While ABMS certifies physicians rather than accredits CME providers, it is a tightly coupled standards organization comparable to ACCME's role in physician credentialing.
Regional players
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada: Royal College accredits CPD programs for Canadian specialists and is recognized internationally as a peer accreditor. It is the closest international analogue to ACCME for physician continuing education accreditation.
- European Accreditation Council for CME (EACCME): EACCME is the pan-European body that accredits CME events across multiple European countries under the UEMS. It is a directly comparable regional CME accreditor for international physicians.
Direct peers
- Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education: Joint Accreditation was co-founded by ACCME and partner organizations to accredit interprofessional continuing education. It operates as a peer accreditor in the IPCE space and directly competes for healthcare delivery organization accreditation customers.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
ACCME social profiles
Digital presenceACCME financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ACCME leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
ACCME funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ACCME M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ACCME
What does ACCME do?
ACCME is a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 and based in Chicago, IL, that accredits institutions and organizations offering continuing medical education (CME) to physicians and other healthcare professionals. It operates technology platforms including PARS (Program and Activity Reporting System) for accredited providers and CME Passport for physicians to monitor earned credits, while enforcing Standards for Integrity and Independence in accredited CME through a voluntary peer-review system.
Is ACCME a public or private company?
ACCME is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was ACCME founded?
ACCME was founded in 1981. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is ACCME based?
ACCME is headquartered in Chicago, United States, in the North America region.
How does ACCME make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Accreditation Fees are the primary driver. The others are annual Provider Fees.
Who are ACCME's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), American Osteopathic Association (AOA), American Medical Association (AMA), World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) and American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Regional players are Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and European Accreditation Council for CME (EACCME). Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education is listed as a direct peer.
Does ACCME have an API?
Yes. ACCME offers web services (XML/JSON-based) that enable software applications, such as learning management systems (LMS), to submit activity and learner completion data directly to PARS. The web services support activity data submission, individual learner records, and aggregate learner totals. A testing site is available for development and testing purposes. Developer documentation is at accme.org/resource/accme-pars-web-services.
What industry is ACCME in?
ACCME's product category is Medical Education Accreditation. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDADACAF, Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies, with a secondary code of EDADACAC, Programmatic Accreditors (Discipline/Profession-Specific). Its NAICS code is 611710.