Using CME for Delivery System Improvement

Last month, the American Hospital Association's Physician Leadership Forum (PLF) had a webinar titled, "Using CME for Delivery System Improvement."

As health care delivery reshapes, hospitals are using new and creative ways to engage with physicians to create a more integrated and seamless care system. Jim Burke, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Scottsdale Healthcare, will share their efforts to use continuing medical education (CME) offerings to align physicians across the health care system and to drive performance improvement.

You can view the webinar and slides here.

The "adoption and meaningful use of social media by physicians"

I encourage you to read this study that was published by several friends and colleagues working in medical education and social media:

"Understanding the factors that influence the adoption and meaningful use of social media by physicians to share medical information."
J Med Internet Res. 2012 Sep 24;14(5):e117.

McGowan BS, Wasko M, Vartabedian BS, Miller RS, Freiherr DD, Abdolrasulnia M.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Within the medical community there is persistent debate as to whether the information available through social media is trustworthy and valid, and whether physicians are ready to adopt these technologies and ultimately embrace them as a format for professional development and lifelong learning.
OBJECTIVE:
To identify how physicians are using social media to share and exchange medical information with other physicians, and to identify the factors that influence physicians' use of social media as a component of their lifelong learning and continuing professional development.
METHODS:
We developed a survey instrument based on the Technology Acceptance Model, hypothesizing that technology usage is best predicted by a physician's attitudes toward the technology, perceptions about the technology's usefulness and ease of use, and individual factors such as personal innovativeness. The survey was distributed via email to a random sample of 1695 practicing oncologists and primary care physicians in the United States in March 2011. Responses from 485 physicians were analyzed (response rate 28.61%).

Reflections from the AMA Task Force on CME Collaboration #AMACME

For the past six years, I've been traveling to Baltimore to attend the Annual Conference of the National Task Force on CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. This year was the 23rd annual conference and it was the smallest one I have ever attended. There were roughly 200 or so attendees, so it was a very intimate conference. You can view some of the presentation slides here.

This year, I appreciated the focus around some real-world examples of quality improvement efforts that have led to measurable improvements in patient care. One example was around the Rhode Island ICU Collaborative where all the ICUs in the state collective came together to identify strategies to reduce certain types of infections (like CLASBI and VAP) in the intensive care setting. They established a collaborative approach, engaged administrative leaders, applied a rapid cycle continuous improvement approach, and accomplished some remarkable outcomes like an 84% reduction in CLASBI.

State-mandated physician CME subjects

American Medical News has a nice article summarizing state-mandated physician CME subjects.  Soon, every state may have a requirement around prescribing opioids and other controlled substances.

Here are the current state-mandated physician CME subjects:

California: pain management, geriatric medicine, end-of-life care

Connecticut: infectious disease, risk management, sexual assault, domestic violence, cultural competence

Florida: MDs -- HIV/AIDS, prevention of medical errors, domestic violence; DOs -- HIV/AIDS, state laws and rules, professional and medical ethics, prescribing controlled substances, domestic violence, prevention of medical errors

Iowa: identifying and reporting abuse (for primary care physicians), chronic pain management, end-of-life care

I'm heading to the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Task Force on CME Provider/Industry Collaboration

I'm heading to Baltimore for the 22nd Annual Conference of the National Task Force on CME Provider/Industry Collaboration, "Collaborating to Improve Professional Education and Health Outcomes." I've been attending this conference every year since 2006 and it's been interesting to follow the changing trends within the world of CME.

The Hot Topics session will address Risk Reduction and Mitigation Strategy (REMS). Keynote presentation by William D. Carey, MD, Professor of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and Director, Center for Continuing Education at the Cleveland Clinic. Shickman Lecture: "Collaborating for Advances in Professional Education and Patient-Centered Care" by Douglas E. Henley, MD FAAFP. Executive Vice President & Chief Executive Officer, American Academy of Family Physicians.

I'm sure everyone will also attend: 10 Myths About the CEJA Report, presented by Bette Crigger, PhD, Director of Ethics Policy and Secretary of the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs

Make sure to stop by the NAMEC (National Association of Medical Education Companies) booth to learn more about NAMEC.

Join me in this webinar: "What Social Media Can Do for CME"

I hope you'll join me in this webinar:

What Social Media Can Do for CME
Thursday, July 21 | 2:00pm EST

The continuing medical education community is just beginning to experiment with how social media can enhance the educational experience it provides to healthcare professionals. We’ve tapped two experts to share the latest ways you can improve CME for healthcare practitioners with social media—from online “communities of interest” to Twitter, to LinkedIn, to YouTube, to blogs.

You’ll learn to:

• Match various adult-learning formats with the appropriate social media technology
• Use social media to improve learning and measure educational outcomes
• Mitigate the potential risks and reap the rewards of using social media to communicate with and educate HCPs
• Find social media resources geared to CME providers, and use them to deepen your own educational experiences

Panelists Include:

• Brian S. McGowan, PhD, CCMEP, Social Media Columnist, Medical Meetings and Director, Medical Education Group, Oncology, Pfizer, Inc.
• Joseph Kim, MD, MPH, President, Education Company and Publisher, Medical Communications Media
• Sue Pelletier, Editor, Medical Meetings

Register for this complimentary webinar here.

Association of Clinical Researchers and Educators 2011 Meeting

The Association of Clinical Researchers and Educators (ACRE) is an organization of physicians and colleagues engaged in promoting excellence in medical service, education, and innovation. ACRE members have records of achievement in these endeavors.

ACRE is holding it's annual meeting on July 22, 2011 at the Cornell Medical Center in New York. For more information about the meeting and registration, click here.

This year’s ACRE meeting will cover a number of areas and topics and will include speakers and representatives from across the health care industry.

24 Reasons To Join us at Medicine 2.0 Stanford

Here are 24 reasons to attend Medicine 2.0 Stanford. I'll be giving a presentation titled, "The Impact of Social Media in Physician Continuing Medical Education."



Registration for Stanford Medicine 2.0 opened April 1, 2011. Space is limited. To register, visit: http://www.medicine20congress.com

Insights from #PACME11 about social learning and a growing online community

I am currently attending the PACME 2011 conference and Dr. Brian McGowan spoke passionately about the new online communities on the Alliance for CME website. This is a great resource for CME professionals who are open to sharing information and learning from each other. Make sure to create a profile and join a group. Then, dive in and engage others in a discussion about the CME enterprise.

• Work collaboratively 
  • Join a group and invite others to join.
• Network
  • Create your own personal profile
    You decide how much information you want to share.
  • Search the community directory
    Find others who share your interests.  Find professionals in your area.

• Find or Contribute to CE/CPD Resources
  • Contribute to our virtual library of documents.
• Discuss hot topics
  • Join a discussion forum to ask a question, engage in discussion on specific or general topics.

If you have questions about the site, you can ask me since I am a member of the Alliance for CME Emerging Technologies Committee.  Visit the Alliance for CME website.

Developing a CME activity that discusses health IT, mobile health, and social media

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to record several videos with two phenomenal physicians: Enoch Choi, MD, and Mike Sevilla, MD. You probably already know them because they're very active in the world of social media:

Enoch Choi, MD
Twitter: @enochchoi


Mike Sevilla, MD
Twitter: @doctoranonymous

We're currently working on a series of certified CME/CE activities that will include discussions around health information technology, electronic health records, mobile health, and social media.

Stay tuned for more details.  Once these activities are released, we'll be discussing them on Sermo and I hope you'll join us for that dialogue. 

The Alliance for CME embraces social media

The Alliance for CME has joined the social networking world! You can now stay on top of the latest events, update and announcements from the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Like the Alliance for CME on Facebook here.
• Follow the Alliance for CME on Twitter here.
• Join the Alliance for CME LinkedIn Group here.

It's great to see the Alliance for CME embracing the world of social media. 

Advocacy Efforts Supporting Industry Collaboration in CME #cmetaskforce

Today is the last day of the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. The Shickman Panel was titled, "Advocacy Efforts Supporting Industry Collaboration in CME." How often do you find yourself defending CME?

Moderator: Brian McGowan, PhD; Pfizer Inc

Panelists:

• John Kamp, PhD, JD; Coalition for Healthcare Communication
• Brad Bednarz, Chief Strategy Officer at Visible Productions
• Lois Colburn; Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME)
• Michael Weber, MD; Association of Clinical Researchers and Educators (ACRE)
• Christopher Bolwell; National Association of Medical Education Companies (NAMEC)
• Jann Balmer, PhD; Alliance for Continuing Medical Education (ACME)
• Norman B. Kahn, Jr., MD; Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS)

What is the true value of CME?

In the past, CME was "trust me, I'm keeping up..." Now, CME has evolved dramatically and it focuses on patient outcomes, physician performance, and the application of the latest evidence. There are opportunities to develop advocacy efforts around the intersection of public health, patient safety, and improved quality.

Industry Senior Medical Leaders Panel #cmetaskforce (How Does CME Fit Into the Grand Scheme of Medical Affairs)

Today is the last day of the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. This morning, we had a panel discussion titled, "Industry Senior Medical Leaders Panel: How Does CME Fit Into the Grand Scheme of Medical Affairs?"

Moderator: John Kamp, PhD, JD, Coalition for Healthcare Communication

The panelists included:

• Paul Chew, MD, Senior Vice President, U.S. Chief Science Officer/Chief Medical Officer, sanofi-aventis
• Janelle (Jill) Massey, PharmD, MBA, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Ortho-McNeil Janssen Scientific Affairs, LLC
• Nancy Santilli, NP, MSN, FAAN, Vice President, Scientific Affairs, Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc.

So, what did we talk about?

First, they discussed the value of CME. We need to inform senior executives about the value of CME. This type of information needs to be disseminated through business media such as the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, HBR, etc.

Principled Partnerships: Practical or Pipe Dream? #cmetaskforce

This morning at the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration, Dr. Darrell Kirch from the AAMC spoke about the culture of medical education.

He started by going into the history and culture of medical education and biomedical research. The culture of health care changed when Medicare entered and fee-for-service models changed the way physicians were compensated. Hospitals focused on the "margins" and hired academic physicians to boost procedures and patient volume capabilities.

Speaking of culture, what is the culture of industry? Industry is undergoing a culture change - similar to the cultural shifts that are occurring in health care and academic medicine. He spoke about the triple bottom line: profit, people, and planet. We need to have a balanced position around the cycle of  research, comparative effectiveness,  patient engagement, delivery system transformation, knowledge translation, etc. Let's rethink our approach to the medical education continuum. We must teach physicians so that they are focusing on improving patient care. We also need to change our health care reform culture and focus on medical homelessness. Unfortunately, most of the focus will revolve around health care costs.

If we compare the old vs. the new CME, we see that newer CME focuses on patient outcomes, systems-based education, and integrated educational initiatives. As we move forward, we will be developing principled partnerships and managing them over time. Then, we must affirm our integrity while fostering innovation.

NAAMECC is now NAMEC #cmetaskforce

The North American Association of Medical Education and Communication Companies, Inc., (NAAMECC) has renamed itself National Association of Medical Education Companies, Inc., (NAMEC). (now, it's much easier to spell)

The National Association of Medical Education Companies, Inc., (NAMEC) is a professional association dedicated to providing representation, advocacy, and education for its members. NAMEC is incorporated in the state of Maryland and is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(6) organization.

NAMEC revealed its new booth at the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. You can also visit the new website here:
http://www.namec-assn.org/

On the train to Baltimore to attend #cmetaskforce

I'm now on the train heading to Baltimore to attend the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. I think it's just easier to say #cmetaskforce.

Make sure to follow #cmetaskforce on Twitter as CME professionals tweet about the conference. Today, I'll be in a NAAMECC (North American Association of Medical Education and Communication Companies, Inc.,) board meeting and then I'll be attending the opening reception at 6:30 pm. I can't wait to dig into some crab cakes when I'm in Baltimore!

The Shifting Paradigm in CME

Here's a video from the Pennsylvania Medical Society about the "Shifting Paradigm in CME."

Getting ready for the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration #cmetaskforce

I'm getting ready to go to Baltimore for the 21st Annual Conference Of The National Task Force On CME Provider/Industry Collaboration. If you're planning on being there, I look forward to connecting and tweeting about the conference.

This year's conference is titled, "Moving forward in an age of uncertainty; Creating innovative, practical educational solutions." Seems like a very appropriate title given all the recent changes in the world of CME.

Oct. 13-15, 2010 in Baltimore
See you there!

We'll be using the Twitter hashtag #cmetaskforce

Help shape the future of medical education

Join the discussion! Contribute to the future of medical education. 

Go to www.ama-assn.org/go/newhorizons where you can contribute your ideas and engage with others as we look forward to the second century beyond the Flexner Report. Your opinions are important. Voice them on our website.

Mayo Clinic to open social media center

According to the StarTribune:

Mayo Clinic is opening a Center for Social Media to train other health care organizations to use Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect patients and doctors. The new center will run workshops, offer consulting and host conferences.

Here are some of the specifics:

• Mayo Clinic is opening a Center for Social Media to train other health care organizations to use Twitter, YouTube and Facebook to connect patients and doctors.
• The center will employ about eight people and have $800,000 a year in initial funding.
• In addition to marketing, Aase said he hopes to explore using social media to deliver continuing medical education courses for physicians and also help Mayo's 56,000 employees communicate better among themselves.

There's definitely a need for hospitals and health care professionals to get more involved in social media. In fact, they need to develop policies and strategies that will ultimately take their organizations to new levels. I like the idea of using social media to deliver continuing medical education or CME courses, but unless they're strictly talking about podcasting technology, they'll be facing many challenges because of the rules and regulations that govern electronic CME (computer-based continuing education for physicians). Regardless, I think it will be great to see doctors and hospitals using social media to engage their patients and to communicate among colleagues.