Effective July 1, 2021, DIOs must oversee submissions of the Annual Update for each program in the Accreditation Data System (ADS). To facilitate this oversight, the ACGME has provided a tool in ADS that allows DIOs and Institutional Coordinators to review, approve, or return programs’ Annual Update back to the program director with suggested changes. Recognizing that sponsoring institutions are learning to use the tool with their programs’ 2021 updates, the IRC will not review Sponsoring Institution’s compliance with this requirement (I.A.5.b).(2)) in the 2021-2022 accreditation cycle.
Currently, the tool works as follows:
- The program director completes and submits the Annual Update;
- The DIO and Institutional Coordinators receive an email from donotreply@acgme.org to review the submission and log into ADS and click on “Approve Annual Updates” under the Sponsored Programs tab;
- The DIO and Institutional Coordinators may select “Approve” or “Return to Program Director for Clarification”;
- If the program Annual Update is approved, nothing further needs to occur. If returned, the program director must resubmit, and the DIO and Institutional Coordinator would need to re-review.
The following are some tips regarding use of the tool:
- Annual Update submissions and DIO feedback should be provided with enough time to allow for review and revision as needed. DIO approval must be documented prior to the program’s due date.
- Once DIO approval is given, ADS does not have an option for the DIO to change the selection. In such cases, the DIO should contact program director directly to suggest changes.
- The review process does not lock the information in the Annual Update. The DIO will only see the version that was submitted to them, and if the Annual Update is returned, the program director should make revisions and re-submit the Annual Update in order for the DIO to see the changes.