New Medical Education Programs
New medical education programs seeking preliminary accreditation must pay the LCME an application fee of $50,000 if the program has never applied for accreditation by the LCME or has not been reviewed for preliminary accreditation by the LCME in the preceding three years.
The application fee must be submitted with documentation that the institution will be chartered in the United States and that the program will conduct all of its graduation requirements in the United States. Following the LCME’s review and acceptance of this documentation, the program will be granted the status of “Applicant” and listed in the Medical School Directory on the LCME website.
If programs granted applicant status do not submit a data collection instrument (DCI) for preliminary accreditation and planning self-study within 18 months of the LCME’s initial granting of applicant status, that status will lapse, and the program must re-apply for applicant status and pay the LCME a $50,000 reapplication fee.
A developing medical education program with applicant status may have a total of three reviews for candidate status. If candidate status is not granted after the third review, the applicant status will lapse, and the program must re-apply for applicant status and pay a $25,000 fee to the LCME. Developing programs that are denied preliminary accreditation following a survey visit and action by the LCME may reapply for applicant status after one year and must pay the LCME a $50,000 reapplication fee (see “The Survey Process for New or Developing Medical Education Programs” in the LCME Rules of Procedure).
New and developing medical education programs are also responsible for all travel expenses related to survey visits (i.e., visit for preliminary accreditation, visit for provisional accreditation, and visit for first full accreditation) until full accreditation has been awarded by the LCME. See the “Expense Recovery Invoicing” chart below to anticipate the invoice amount. An invoice for expense recovery is typically sent within 30 days of the completion of the survey visit.
The LCME has adopted policy that requires a single-invoiced expense recovery based on the duration of the survey visit and the number of team members or LCME Secretariat staff involved rather than individual reimbursement requests from the participants.
The table below demonstrates the cost a medical education program might anticipate for these expense-reimbursed activities.
|
Number of Day(s)/Night(s)
|
Per Person
|
|---|---|
|
1 day/1 night |
$1,500 |
|
1-2 days/2 nights |
$2,100 |
|
2-3 days/3 nights |
$2,700 |
|
3-4 days/4 nights |
$3,300 |
When a new medical education program has achieved full accreditation by the LCME, the travel expenses incurred for subsequent full accreditation surveys will be borne by the LCME as outlined in the next section.
On-site Survey Visits for Existing, Accredited Medical Education Programs
All travel expenses for teams participating in full accreditation surveys (after a developing medical school’s first full accreditation survey), including travel, hotel, and meals outside of the school, are paid for by the LCME.
Travel expenses paid by the LCME include travel expenses from the surveyors’ homes to the meeting hotel, and travel costs associated with the survey team’s evening meals. The school is expected to provide travel to/from the survey team hotel and the school, to regional campuses, and to any other educational program venues visited by the team, such as clinical teaching sites.
The table below demonstrates the cost a medical education program might anticipate for these expense-reimbursed activities.
|
Number of Day(s)/Night(s)
|
Per Person
|
|---|---|
|
1 day/1 night |
$1,500 |
|
1-2 days/2 nights |
$2,100 |
|
2-3 days/3 nights |
$2,700 |
|
3-4 days/4 nights |
$3,300 |
Speaking Engagements
Medical schools or other organizations may wish to have a member of the LCME Secretariat provide a lecture or serve as a member of a panel. LCME Secretariat participation is subject to availability. Expense recovery for the engagement is typically based on the schedule noted in the table above. Brief engagements requiring less than one full day may be invoiced for actual travel costs at the discretion of the Secretariat and determined in advance.
To schedule a speaking engagement, please send requests to lcme@aamc.org detailing the date, location, duration, and topics to be covered. LCME staff will work with the Secretariat members to determine which member(s) is/are available. After the speaking engagement occurs, the requestor will receive a single, non-itemized invoice for expense recovery, typically within 30 days of the completion of the speaking engagement.
Virtual Consultations
Members of the LCME Secretariat are available to participate in one full-day or two half-day virtual consultations to accredited or developing medical schools for purposes such as reviewing action plans, conducting an introduction to the self-study process (“kick-off”), or discussing the accreditation expectations for the creation of a new or expanded regional campus. Note that there is no expectation for reimbursement associated with short-duration conference calls between the Secretariat and school personnel.
The LCME has adopted policy that requires a single invoice based on the duration of the visit and the number of members of the Secretariat involved.
The table below demonstrates the cost a medical education program might anticipate for these virtual consultations.
|
Number of Day(s)/Night(s)
|
Per Person
|
|---|---|
|
1 full day or 2 half-days |
$750 |
|
1 half-day |
$500 |
The school will receive a single, non-itemized invoice, typically within 30 days of the completion of the Secretariat consultation/self-study kick-off event.
Virtual Limited Survey Visits
All limited survey visits will occur in a virtual format. Virtual survey visits will typically be 2 days in length. The LCME has established a policy that requires a single invoice of $4,000 per survey visit. The school will receive a single, non-itemized invoice, typically within 30 days of the completion of the virtual survey visit.