Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education on the Internet

1
Evaluation of Continuing Medical Education on the
Internet

• Michael W. Peterson, M.D.
• University of Iowa
• Iowa City, Iowa

2
Background

• Continuing education has been an integral part of
  Western medicine since the 17th Century
• Formal continuing education has been required for
  most U.S. physicians for 25 years
• Traditional educational venues (lectures,
  monographs, etc.) are relatively ineffective at
  altering physician behavior

3
Background

• Computers offer a novel method of educational
  intervention
• granular
• timely
• The Internet provides an easy, convenient, and
  inexpensive mechanism for delivering continuing
  education

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Background Disadvantages of the Internet

• Business model Internet is a disruptive
  technology- traditional CME providers (Medical
  Schools) may lose their leadership to commercial
  providers
• Quality The Internets ease of publication
  allows traditional quality control mechanisms to
  be bypassed

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Questions

• Who is providing most of the CME on the Internet?
• How well is CME on the Internet meeting proposed
  standards for quality?

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The Internet as a Source of CME Methods

• Surveyed 204 sites offering CME
• Located the sites using general search engines
  and specific medical resources
• Identified sponsoring organization, type of CME
  information (on-line schedules catalogues
  links), and applied quality standards (JAMA,
  1997, and HON Code)

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of Total Sites by Provider
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Types of CME Services
9
of Sites Offering Type of CME Information
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of Each Service by Provider
11
1998 ACCME Annual Report Enduring Materials on
the Internet
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1998 ACCME Annual Report All Forms of CME
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CME and Quality Control

• Standards
• Registration ease of access
• Authorship
• Attribution appropriate bibliography
• Disclosure
• Currency
• Peer review status
• Testing vehicle

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Accessible On-Line Sites Characteristics
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Accessible On-Line Sites Quality of Commercial
versus University Sites
16
Cost of On-Line CME
Cost per Hour in
17
Percent of Sites Offering Free CME
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On-Line CME Summary

• CME is available in increasing amounts on the
  Internet
• Commercial CME providers offer more on-line CME
  than do University Medical Schools

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On-Line CME Summary

• Much of current on-line CME does not meet minimal
  quality standards
• University Medical Schools perform only slightly
  better than commercial CME providers in meeting
  on-line CME quality standards

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On-Line CME Conclusions

• As with other areas of the Internet, on-line CME
  is growing
• Quality will ultimately determine whether on-line
  CME is embraced by professionals
• To assure this quality, traditional medical
  educators need to take a more active leadership
  role in on-line CME