History of Excellence in Data Verification
Part of the ABMS mission is to make certification status information of board certified doctors available to those who need it. In 1939 ABMS started a simple written registry containing the names of 147 physicians who held board certification from their respective specialty boards. Professionals contacted ABMS directly or referenced printed publications to verify the certification of physicians.
As specialty medicine expanded and the number of certifying boards grew, board certification information quickly became an essential part of constructing a physician’s professional profile. The written registry expanded into a centralized online database containing records of physicians to which certificates have been issued since 1917. The need became greater than ever to develop a convenient and efficient system to complete the verification process.
The CertiFACTS Online® product set, managed by ABMS Solutions, is the original online verification program to verify physician certification. It revolutionized the credentialing industry, allowing professionals to control the process for querying and obtaining board certification information. Online primary source verification is now available through a variety of innovative products.
- CertiFACTS Online®, developed in 1999, is the original and most widely accepted professional online resource for checking board certification information in the ABMS database.
- ABMS Direct Connect Select™ released in 2005, helps credentialing professionals connect directly to the ABMS database through their credentialing software system.
- ABMS Certification Profile Service®, introduced in 2006, offers subscription-based, as-needed query packages for organizations requiring limited or lower volume queries.
Today, ABMS board certification data is referenced by hospitals, health care providers, health plans, law firms, recruiters, and research organizations for many different needs. The Official ABMS Display Agent™ program was created in 2003 to designate products and services that can distribute data with the same primary source equivalency as if provided by ABMS. The CertiFACTS Online product set has carried this designation since 2004.