A new metric for continuing medical education credit.

The two major continuing medical education (CME) credit systems for allopathic physicians in the United States are administered by the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). This article explores the history of AMA and AAFP CME credit and its value to physicians and the patients they serve. Historically, CME credit has been awarded as hours for participation, but this approach is inadequate as a measure of CME and its impact on improving physician practice. New credit systems are needed to measure a CME activity by its value in bettering the physician's knowledge base, competence, and performance in practice.