UEMS/EBNM Committees
European Accreditation Council for CME (EACCME) and European CME credits (ECMEC)
EACCME was set up by the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS) in October 1999 in Vienna and started operating in January 2000. The purpose of EACCME is to harmonise and improve the quality of specialists’ medical care in Europe. EACCME acts as a clearing house for certification of CME credits in Europe. EACCME cannot provide accreditation of CME activities directly and cannot evaluate the scientific and educational contents of an event; rather, it can only validate and grant the official number of European CME credits (ECMEC) after professional evaluation has been performed by a CME National Accreditation Authority or UEMS Specialty Board (see the accreditation flowchart below).
In order to facilitate the transfer of credits between European countries in the event of migration of a specialist within Europe, and to make exchange of credits possible inside and outside Europe, a system of European credits was set up by EACCME: the European CME Credits (ECMECs): 1 ECMEC equates to one hour of CME, with a maximum of 6 ECMECs for a day and 3 ECMECs for half a day.
In 2000 EACCME signed an agreement with the American Medical Association (AMA) ensuring the recognition of ECMECs in the United States.
All live CME activities approved by the EACCME are valid for recognition by the American Medical Association (AMA) towards the Physician’s Recognition Award (PRA). E-learning is not covered by the agreement – see 
www.ama-assn.org/go/internationalcme
Instructions for converting EACCME Credit to AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM
To apply for conversion of EACCME credit to AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM:
- Visit the UEMS Web site to ensure the activity was certified for EACCME credit
- Download the
Application for EACCME Credit Conversion , and submit:- the completed application by fax or mail
- a copy of the EACCME credit certificate
- processing fee.
A certificate awarding AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM will be e-mailed within 4 weeks.
By fax:
Attn: Sherri Eastman
(312) 464-5129
or
By mail:
American Medical Association
Continuing Physician Professional Development (CPPD)
515 N. State Street, 7th Floor
Chicago, IL 60654
Read the article on Continuing Medical Education Committee and UEMS-EACCME,
written by Teresio Varetto and Durval C. Costa,
published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (Springer-Verlag)
EACCME 2.0 Criteria for Accreditation of LEE