We came across an article comparing Netflix to current advances in medical education. Specifically, according to the article found at medgadget.com [link], they were discussing the GIBLIB company's online streaming platform for medical education.  GIBLIB uses 360 degree virtual reality video content. 

"GIBLIB recently announced a partnership with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to deliver the first ever Continuing Medical Education (CME) accredited course filmed exclusively in 360-degree virtual reality."

This article is very specific to this one company, and doubtless there are other companies doing similar work.  But it is always good to monitor what the competition is doing and to be prepared to respond. 

CME is an industry rooted in change, a profession that calls upon our abilities to recognize and address new challenges. It requires us to utilize our intellect, our diligence, and our creativity. NAMEC believes that each of these elements should be acknowledged. NAMEC congratulates the 2018 award winners for Best Practices in CME.  The recipients were recognized at the NAMEC Annual Meeting, held during the ACEHP Conference January 23 – 26, 2019, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland.

NAMEC Best Practice in Enduring Material Educational Design: pmiCME for "Curriculum Learning through a ConnectED CME/CE Series"

NAMEC Best Practice in Learner Outcomes: Projects in Knowledge for "Rheumatoid Arthritis @Point of Care"

NAMEC Best Practice in Live Activity Educational Design: Paradigm Medical Communications for "Paving a Path to Relief of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Chronic Idiopathic Constipation: Live Patient Simulations Demonstrating Innovations in Diagnosis and Treatment"

NAMEC Best Practice in Innovative Educational Methods: CME Outfitters for "HBV is Not a Game: Or Is It? Optimizing Your Approach to HBV Management"

NAMEC Best Practice in Innovative Educational Methods: Global Education Group for "Advanced Trauma Training"

NAMEC Best Practice in Collaboration Among CME Stakeholders: Global Education Group for "Overactive Bladder: Adopting a Patient-Centered Approach to Improve Outcomes and Quality of Life—The OAB Learning Center"

NAMEC Brian P. Russell Exemplary CME Professional Award: Phil Talamo, CHCP

NAMEC appreciates all members and companies who submitted for consideration of these awards.  The 2019 Best Practices awards will be requested later this year and we encourage your company to become a member if there is a project you feel could be an award winner.

MIPS scores from 2017 are now publicly available. Anyone who looks these scores up can now see how well a particular physician/practice did.

What is MIPS? A quick reminder that MIPS stands for "Merit-based Incentive Payment System" - which streamlines into one payment program  Medicare Part B providers to a performance-based payment system which were formerly found in three different programs.

If a physician treating Medicare Part B patients did not participate in MIPS, their reimbursements are subject to a decreased rate.

An easy to use publicly available tool to find physician MIPS scores can be found here.

Beginner CME for MOC: Ask Your Questions Webinar,

September 24, 2019
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm (CT)

This interactive webinar is for those that have not yet offered CME for MOC or have just offered a couple of activities. Bring your questions about planning or reporting CME that Counts for MOC to ACCME staff for answers and guidance. To register for this webinar, please click on this link.

The following information is being shared from the ACCME's web site at http://accme.org/events/ACCME2020

ACCME 2020 Meeting

May 6-8, 2020
Pre-conference sessions on May 5

Hilton Chicago
720 S Michigan Ave
Chicago, IL 60605

Call for Proposals

The ACCME 2020 Meeting Call for Proposals is now open and ready for your submissions!

We want to hear from you during the ACCME 2020 Meeting! Share how your CME Program is transforming care with your colleagues at the meeting. The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm CT, Friday, September 13, 2019. Proposals will be accepted in the following three (3) categories:

1. Share Your CME Story – You have a CME story to share! How are you changing practice and healthcare through accredited CME? What challenges have you overcome? What have you learned? What inspires you and brings meaning to your work as an educator? Selected CME Stories will be shared in the meeting app for review and engagement by other ACCME 2020 participants. The stories that have the most engagement during the meeting will receive special recognition at the meeting.

   Click here to submit one or more CME Stories
    

2. Inspire & Teach: Propose a Session – Share your expertise and experience as an educational leader. Submit your proposal for an educational session and help to improve the skills and performance of your colleagues. Selected proposals will be featured as breakout sessions at the ACCME 2020 Meeting. Additionally, session facilitators (up to two per session) will receive a 30% discount on meeting registration.

   Click here to submit your proposed breakout session.
    

3. CME Effectiveness & Best Practices: Engaging in CME Research – Share your scholarship! What makes CME effective or ineffective in catalyzing learner change and healthcare improvement? Help mentor your colleagues as we pursue together critical questions about improving CME. Selected research project submissions will display a poster of their work throughout the ACCME 2020 Meeting and will present a short oral summary of their project during a Research Exchange session. The primary author for each selected proposal will receive a 20% discount on registration for the ACCME 2020 Meeting.

   Click here to submit your CME research project.

You are welcome to submit multiple proposals in any or all of the above categories.

Call for Proposals Resources

• Download this Information Sheet with the rules and details for submission.
• Listen to a recording of the July 10th Informational Webinar, which includes some helpful tips from colleagues who had submissions selected for the ACCME 2019 Meeting.
• If you need further assistance, contact info@accme.org

In Person

Educational

Public

CME Outfitters, a leading international provider for continuing medical education and member of NAMEC, is offering a free continuing medical education course entitled “Championing Change: Addressing Addiction in our Communities.” 

This course is a partnership between CME Outfitters and renowned addiction psychiatrist Dr. Mark Gold as well as Addiction Policy Forum founder and president Jessica Hulsey Nickel.

You can read more about this partnership at the following news release.

Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed into law Public Act 19-115, “An Act Concerning Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia Training and Best Practices” (PA 19-115).

According to The National Law Review, "This legislation modifies the continuing medical education (CME) requirements for Connecticut-licensed physicians and the continuing education (CE) requirements for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs). Currently, during each CME period, physicians are required to complete at least one hour of CME relating to behavioral health. Similarly, APRNs are required to complete at least two hours of CE on mental health conditions common to veterans and their families."

See full article at NatLawReview.com

Further: "PA 19-115 allows physicians to complete their behavioral health training by receiving at least two hours in training regarding diagnosing and treating cognitive conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease and related cognitive impairments, or mental health conditions, including those common to veterans. This legislation also permits APRNs to receive two or more hours of training toward their CE requirements on topics related to diagnosing and treating cognitive or mental health conditions, including Alzheimer’s and related cognitive impairments."

The law was signed on July 1, 2019,  and becomes effective January 1, 2020.

2020 will bring a new fee structure from the ACCME for their annual accreditation fee.  This is in response to suggestions from the CME community to distribute fees among programs of different sizes.

There will be four tiers of fees in the new structure.  Tier 1 will be the smaller programs, up to Tier 4 being the largest.  Accredited programs will provide the average activities per year and average learner interactions per year and the largest tier in which you fall will determine the fees your program will pay.  The fees will range from Tier 1 at $5,900 per year up to $10,000 per year at Tier 4.  Tier 2 is $6,500 per year and Tier 3 will be $7,500 per year.

Data is calculated from the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) from 2016-2018.

This new fee structure does NOT impact other fees such as extensions, pre-applications and initial accreditation. 

According to the ACCME, "Mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the hospital and health system sector, mean that large organizations consolidate the accreditation of multiple smaller CME programs under one umbrella. This trend is reducing the number of providers and driving greater size disparity among providers."

In addition, "We [the ACCME] rely on annual accreditation fees as our major source (69 percent) of yearly revenue. We operate with a closely balanced, conservative budget, using our revenues to achieve our strategic goals. After careful deliberations and analysis of our data, the ACCME executive leadership and Board of Directors determined that implementing a tiered accreditation fee structure is necessary to allow us to continue to fulfill our strategic responsibilities."

More information about this change can be found online at http://accme.org/highlights/accme-implements-new-tiered-structure-for-annual-accreditation-fee.

NAMEC members can discuss this at our online forum.

The American Hospital Association's Physician Alliance has issued a new report with recommendations for how continuing medical education improvements can be made to increase value to hospitals.

"Hospitals account for a large proportion of the CME-granting programs with about 35 percent of the activities and 38 percent of the credit hours offered in 2013."

“CME allows physicians to reach their full potential both as caregivers and leaders of the health care field,” said AHA Senior Vice President John Combes, MD. “We have an opportunity to use CME strategically to achieve the goals not only of individual physicians but the entire delivery system to meet the needs of the patients and communities we serve.”

Additional notes from the report include the following steps to increase value:

• Hospital associations should share best practices
• Explore partnerships with medical societies and others to increase awareness of CME
• Hospitals and health systems should facilitate greater communication between the CME professionals, physician leadership, and organization leadership to improve CME offerings. Organizations should develop physician champions to drive engagement of the staff, and encourage the use of data from community health assessments to spur education on population health issues.  
• The accreditation community should review accreditation standards for areas of improvement and simplification. For example, accrediting bodies should consider accreditation for smaller group projects that address current physician work. Hospital leaders also recommended using technology to streamline the paperwork burden in meeting accreditation requirements.
• Finally, as health care delivery is changing, so to must the educational system. Greater use of performance-based CME, moving away from time-based activities, and increasing the diversity in accredited programs to adapt to the changing environment should all be considered.

The full report can be accessed at the following link:

AHA Report on Continuing Medical Education