The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP) has been awarded joint accreditation from Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education (JAICE), allowing the Academy to provide continuing education credits to physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and PAs. The accreditation was awarded for six years, the maximum allowed by JAICE.
“This is great news for the Academy,” said AAAP President Shelly F. Greenfield, MD, MPH. “AAAP’s strategic plan includes broadening our reach beyond Addiction Psychiatrists and joint accreditation goes a long way toward reaching that goal. It is vital that interdisciplinary teams work together to address all substance use disorders—particularly opioid use disorder—and co-occurring mental disorders, and AAAP remains committed to this endeavor.”
“This approval means that AAAP will no longer have to go outside the organization when granting CE credits, a cost savings to the Academy. And, since Joint accreditation promotes interprofessional continuing education, which is designed to improve health care and patient outcomes, it is completely aligned with the goals of AAAP’s Continuing Professional Development Committee” stated CPD Committee Chairman Thomas Penders, MD.
To achieve joint accreditation, continuing education providers must meet rigorous standards for educational quality and independence. Joint Accreditation is a collaboration of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), and the Association of Regulatory Boards of Optometry’s Council on Optometric Practitioner Education (ARBO/COPE).
With the joint accreditation initiative, the ACCME, ACPE, ANCC, AAPA, and COPE seek to assure the public that healthcare professionals receive education that is designed to be independent, free from commercial bias, based on valid content, and effective in improving the quality and safety of care—all objectives AAAP is deeply committed to.
The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry is a nonprofit professional membership organization of Addiction Specialists whose mission is to promote the need for research and clinical treatment using evidence-based approaches through training and education.
