The Board of Directors of the American Board of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine (ABPLM), is proud to announce that Kent R. Hoerauf, MD, FACP, CMD of Hettinger, ND has been recertified as a Certified Medical Director (CMD) in Post-Acute and Long-Term Care. Dr. Hoerauf is one of more than 5,500 physicians nationwide who have received the CMD designation since the program's inception in 1991.

A study published in JAMDA found that having a Certified Medical Director (CMD) contributes positively to a nursing home's quality of care. Analysis of data showed that quality scores represented a 15% improvement in quality for facilities with CMDs. For free access to an article on the study go to: https://www.jamda.com/article/S1525-8610(09)00198-4/fulltext

The CMD credential was established to enhance the profession of medical direction throughout post􀀗 acute and long-term care settings (e.g., nursing facilities, hospice, assisted living, home care, post­acute care) and to reinforce the leadership role of the medical director in providing quality care. Federal regulations and changes in the health care environment have established the role of the medical director as central to the delivery of quality care. The increased presence of managed care in post-acute and long-term care settings has emphasized credentialing, and CMD certification has taken on additional importance. The CMD designation provides an indicator of professional competence to post-acute and long-term care providers, government and other quality assurance agencies, consumers, and the public.

The ABPLM CMD certification program recognizes the dual clinical and management roles of the medical director and requires indicators of competence in both areas. The dual nature of the skills needed makes the position of medical director unique in medicine. The certification process is based on an experiential model that incorporates mechanisms such as fellowship programs, board certification in a medical specialty, comprehensive courses in medical direction, continuing medical education programs and administrative experience to fulfill certification requirements.
For further information about the CMD credential, contact the ABPLM Director at (410) 992-3117, or send an e-mail to cmd@paltc.org, or visit www.abbplm.org.