Expense Recovery / Consultations

New Medical Education Programs

An institution seeking accreditation of its medical education program for the first time must submit an initial application fee of $25,000 along with documentation that the institution is chartered in the United States or Canada and that the program will conduct all of its graduation requirements in those countries. 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. The listing of a program as an applicant also indicates that the preliminary accreditation data collection instrument (DCI) is sufficiently well developed that it will be submitted to the LCME within 18 months. If the applicant program does not submit the preliminary DCI within those 18 months, the program will be required to reapply with an application fee of $25,000. If, after LCME review of the DCI for preliminary accreditation, the program is denied a preliminary accreditation visit, the program must wait 12 months and pay a $10,000 resubmission fee for the resubmission to be considered by the LCME. (Please refer to the most current edition of the LCME Rules of Procedure available on the LCME website for a detailed explanation of the accreditation process for a developing medical education program.)

New and developing medical education programs are responsible for all travel expenses related to on-site consultations by the LCME Secretariat. 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 Secretariat consultation.

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 consultation or 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.

Expense Recovery Invoicing

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 and Consultation 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 (with the exception of the expenses incurred by the faculty fellow, as described below).

(*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 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.)

Medical education programs are responsible for all expenses incurred related to limited survey visits, Secretariat consultations, and Self-study kick-off events. The LCME has adopted policy that requires a single-invoiced expense recovery based on the duration of the visit and the number of team members involved. The table below demonstrates the cost a medical education program might anticipate for these expense-reimbursed visits.

Expense Recovery Invoicing

The members of the limited survey visit team and/or of the Secretariat providing the consultation will be reimbursed for their travel expenses by the LCME. The school will receive a single, non-itemized invoice for expense recovery, typically within 30 days of the completion of the limited survey team visit, Secretariat consultation, or the Self-study kick-off event.

LCME Faculty Fellows on Full Accreditation Survey Visits

Full accreditation survey teams may include a team member designated as a LCME faculty fellow. A faculty fellow is nominated by his or her respective dean for training in the accreditation process in advance of his or her program’s upcoming full accreditation self-study. The faculty fellow’s home institution is responsible for the expenses incurred by the faculty fellow as a member of the full accreditation survey team. Reimbursement for the faculty fellow’s expenses will be handled directly by the faculty fellow with his or her home institution.

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 “Expense Recovery Invoicing” 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.

Virtual Consultation Invoicing

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 2-3 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.