Catherine R. Lucey, MD, Named Chair of the ABIM's Board of Directors

July 01, 2011 (PRLEAP.COM) Health News
(Philadelphia, PA), Catherine R. Lucey, MD, has been named Chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board of Directors. Dr. Lucey currently holds the position of Interim Dean, College of Medicine, Vice Dean for Education at the Ohio State University (OSU) College of Medicine and Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Education for the OSU Office of Health Sciences. On September 1, she begins her appointment as Vice Dean for Education at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

ABIM sets the standards and certifies physicians practicing in internal medicine and its subspecialties who possess the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to provide high quality care.

"I am delighted to be able to work with my colleagues on the Board in service to our patients and our diplomates," says Dr. Lucey. "Our goal is simple – we want to make sure that when patients choose a board certified internist as their physician, they will find a physician whose judgment they can trust and who is committed to continuously updating their knowledge and their practice to meet the needs of their patients."

The Board of Directors, comprised of physicians who are board certified in internal medicine or one of its subspecialties, guides ABIM's overall mission and direction as it works to improve health care quality. All ABIM Directors participate in ABIM's Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. MOC recognizes that what was standard treatment a decade ago may have changed, and that the public needs a process to know if their physicians have kept up-to-date in their field. Dr. Lucey is board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine.

During her tenure at OSU College of Medicine, Dr. Lucey's leadership was instrumental to the acceptance of their internal medicine residency program into the inaugural cohort of Educational Innovations Project sites by the Residency Review Committee of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.

"Catherine is an accomplished leader whose efforts will continue to make the American Board of Internal Medicine's Certification and Maintenance of Certification the recognized standard of physician competence for patients," said Christine K. Cassel, MD, ABIM's President and CEO. "Evaluation of medical specialists' knowledge and performance is essential to quality of care and the lifelong education of physicians."

She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and is a prior council member for the Society of General Internal Medicine and the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. In 2005, Dr. Lucey was named Professor of Internal Medicine.

For media inquiries, contact Lorie Slass at 215-399-4005.

About ABIM
For 75 years, Certification by the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) has stood for the highest standard in internal medicine and its 19 subspecialties and has meant that internists have demonstrated – to their peers and to the public – that they have the clinical judgment, skills and attitudes essential for the delivery of excellent patient care. ABIM is not a membership society, but a non-profit, independent evaluation organization. Our accountability is both to the profession of medicine and to the public. ABIM is a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. For additional updates, follow ABIM on Facebook.