State Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine New Continuing Education Requirements and Volunteer Services

The State Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine finalize regulations to implement 20 Pa.C.S. § 8628, which requires physicians to complete at least 2 credit hours of continuing medical education in organ and tissue donation and recovery process. The 2 credit hours may be attributed to the continuing medical education hours required for biennial renewal. This is a one-time requirement that goes into effect on May 1, 2026, and physicians will have 5 years to complete the requirement. The following requirements apply:

• A physician who obtains initial licensure prior to May 1, 2026, shall verify completion of the 2 credit hours within 5 years of licensure renewal.
• A physician who obtains a license on or after May 1, 2026, shall verify completion of the 2 credit hours within 5 years of initial licensure.
• A physician who reactivates an expired or inactive license on or after May 1, 2026, shall verify completion of the 2 credit hours one time within 5 years of reactivation.

The education required to satisfy this requirement consists of the following Board-approved curriculum which addresses the clinical aspects of the donation and recovery process and is posted on the Board's website:

• Overview of the organ donation and transplantation system.
• Tissue donation process.
• Organ donation process.
• Determining death and family communication.
• Caring for families.
• Organ donor management.

PAMED will provide guidance in a separate announcement on how to satisfy the new organ donation continuing education requirements.

Both Boards also adopted the PA-SUPPORT opioid education curriculum, which may be offered in colleges or by approved providers.  MDs and DOs may but are not required to take the PA-SUPPORT curriculum to satisfy the opioid education requirements.

Additionally, both Boards amend their regulations to comply with the Volunteer Health Service Act. To provide clarity, definitions for ''family member,'' ''approved organization,'' ''primary health care services,'' ''nonretired Board-regulated practitioner,'' and ''retired Board-regulated practitioner” were added to the regulations. Furthermore, the Board clarifies the requirements for eligibility for a volunteer license for retired and nonretired board-regulated practitioners and adds in language about the organ donation continuing education requirements.

Finally, consistent with the Safe Emergency Prescribing Act, both Boards include language that subject licensees to discipline for violations of the Safe Emergency Prescribing Act.

For more information, please review the following notices issued in the April 25, 2026, edition of the PA Bulletin:

• State Board of Medicine Education and Volunteer Services
• State Board of Osteopathic Medicine Education and Volunteer Services