IEeXAM – NBE’s Newest Credential

Ten reasons to welcome the NBE examination of special competency,

planned to debut in 2028

1. Make expertise visible. Provide an objective way to demonstrate specialized knowledge beyond general echocardiography credentials.
2. Strengthen the physician’s negotiating position. Support discussions with hospitals about dedicated roles, protected time, staffing, and compensation that reflect the demands of interventional imaging.
3. Bolster payment advocacy. Give professional societies an additional foundation for advocating to CMS and other payers that interventional echocardiography requires distinct expertise and physician work.
4. Help hospitals build structural heart teams. Offer a common benchmark when recruiting physicians and developing local credentialing pathways.
5. Support clinical trial site selection. Give sponsors an additional measure of imaging expertise when evaluating investigators and participating centers.
6. Support new device adoption. Help the industry identify physicians with demonstrated foundational knowledge to undertake device-specific training and support emerging therapies.
7. Establish a shared foundation for procedural care. Reinforce knowledge of anatomy, imaging, hemodynamics, procedural guidance, and complication recognition across institutions.
8. Give trainees a clearer destination. Define an educational goal that helps fellows and practicing physicians prepare for careers in interventional echocardiography.
9. Advance recognition of the specialty. Strengthen the professional identity of interventional echocardiography as an essential discipline within structural heart care.
10. Create a common language for collaboration. Align physicians, hospitals, educators, and industry around a shared expectation of the knowledge required for this demanding work.

The examination will complement hands-on training, procedural experience, and assessment of clinical performance.

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