The Outcomes Standardization Project has a web site.

http://outcomesince.org/glossary/ is now available for those that may be interested in standard terms and definitions in the profession of continuing medical education/continuing education. 

Terms that definitions have been made available include Participant, Learner, Intended Reach, Learning Actions, Completion Rate, Assessment, Evaluation, and more.  Click the link above to view the list. 

If you are not familiar with why this is available, what the purpose of it is, etc.  you may want to review the webinar available at https://youtu.be/Qt6kxjCWPtc

You can also view this video below:

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) has shared the following press release for your review:

The ACCME is pleased to release Advancing CME to Optimize Care: 2018-2019 Highlights from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME(R)). The year-in-review report describes the ACCME and continuing medical education (CME) community's initiatives to advance quality learning for healthcare professionals the drives improvements in patient care.

* Through collaborations with state medical society accreditors, the ACCME provides education and resources to sustain local CME and a vibrant state-accreditation system.

* The ACCME expanded collaborations with accreditors, certifying boards, licensing boards, and government agencies, enabling clinicians to engage in education that counts for multiple requirements, reducing burdens and increasing flexibility.

* Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education (TM) welcomed four more professions, giving jointly accredited organizations the option to offer team-based education for seven professions without needing separate accreditations.

* By participating in national public health initiatives, the ACCME and the educator community leverage the power of accredited CME to address the opioid crisis.

With its new website, international collaborations, research opportunities, and more advanced data system, the ACCME aims to promote an even more dynamic CME enterprise that is ready to adapt to the changing educational needs of clinician-learners today and in the future.

The ACCME published Advancing CME to Optimize Care, as part of its effort to build visibility for the CME community and communicate the value of accreditation and accredited CME.

"I look forward to our continued collaborations and growth, as we work together toward realizing our vision of a world where our community of educators supports clinicians in delivering optimal healthcare for all." - Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, ACCME President and CEO

Download the report here (http://www.accme.org/publications/2018-2019-highlights-report).

ACCME

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME(R)) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, responsible for accrediting organizations that offer continuing medical education (CME) and for recognizing state medical societies as accreditors of local CME programs.

The ACCME sets standards for CME that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. These standards ensure that accredited CME is designed to be relevant to clinicians' needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients.

Accredited CME facilitates engagement with physicians and healthcare teams where they live, learn, and work. There are approximately 1,800 accredited CME providers within the ACCME System, across the country and internationally, representing a range of organizations including medical schools, hospitals/health systems, government/military agencies, specialty societies, and insurance/managed-care companies. Accredited providers offer about 163,000 activities each year, comprising more than one million hours of instruction and including more than 28 million interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals.

The Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) has a new mobile app, available for free, that gives physicians that may prescribe controlled-substance access to opioid-related education.  The Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation provided a grant to fund this new app.  This education is required by Indiana law - Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 225 which passed in 2018.

The app can help physicians fulfill the 2 hour required continuing medical education every 2 years. The app uses video, webinars and podcasts to transmit the education.

The educational requirement takes effect July 1. ISMA's web site notes that they are the largest physician organization in Indiana. 

The name of the app is ISMA Online.

Physicians’ Education Resource® to Present Two Satellite Symposia at the 2019 AUA Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The  two innovative live educational activities will be presented at McCormick Place West in Chicago, Illinois, on May 3 and 4, 2019 as part of the 2019 AUA Annual Meeting.

• Transforming Treatment Paradigms in Renal Cell Carcinoma: Understanding the Role of Risk Stratification and Emerging Data in the Adjuvant Setting, will be held as a breakfast symposium on Friday, May 3, from 8-9:30 a.m. in W375B on level 3. The program will be chaired by Robert A. Figlin, M.D., FACP, Steven Spielberg Family Chair in Hematology-Oncology, director of the division of hematology/oncology, deputy director of integrated oncology service line and a professor of medicine and biomedical sciences at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. During this program, a multidisciplinary panel of renowned experts in renal cell carcinoma (RCC) will guide attendees through an in-depth, up-to-date review of risk assessment in the early-stage RCC setting; surgical standards-of-care and challenges; patient selection for adjuvant systemic therapy; evidence from clinical studies of adjuvant therapy for RCC; and overall multidisciplinary care planning. To register, click here.
• Bladder Cancer Working Group: Practical Application of Immunotherapeutic Strategies to Optimize Patient Outcomes, Next Steps to Move the Field Forward, will be held as a dinner symposium on Saturday, May 4, from 6-8 p.m. in W375A on level 3. The program will be chaired by Daniel P. Petrylak, M.D., professor of medicine and urology, co-director of the Signal Transduction Research Program, Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine. During this program, a multidisciplinary faculty of renowned experts in urology, medical oncology and immunotherapy will review practice-changing data and discuss their impact on patient care. Brief didactic presentations will be followed by real-world clinical case presentations and discussions to facilitate interpretation and application of the evidence. The faculty will also share their forward-looking perspectives on the bladder cancer treatment horizon based on recently reported and anticipated clinical trial data. To register, click here.

MDMag covered the issue of patient sleep quality for overall health in a recent article. Paul P. Doghramji, MD, Karl Doghramji, MD, and David N. Neubauer, MD each questioned why patient sleep is not considered as a commonly-accepted measure of a patient’s health, similar to blood-pressure tests.  

"Studies have shown that at least 50% of all primary care patients experience insomnia at some point. Only 1 in 3 will present the issue to their doctor, Doghramji said, and just 1 in 20 will seek therapy for it."

The topic was discussed during a continuing medical education symposium supported by Eisai Inc and Imbrium Therapeutics during the 2019 American College of Physicians (ACP) Internal Medicine Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Risk factors from sleep issues are distinguishable and the discussion should continue and perhaps help improve patient care. 

Join us on Facebook to share news, pictures and posts, even share your continuing medical education events. Our Facebook page, created on April 26, 2019, is https://fb.me/namecassn - we hope you join us!

An opinion article by Howard Schulman, MD, was published in the Providence Journal arguing for the passage of H5247/S301 that would remove requirements for maintenance of certification (MOC). One of his arguments against MOC is that Rhode Island doctors must obtain 40 hours of CME every 2 years. 

"The great majority of doctors enjoy keeping up to date and look forward to doing continuing medical education." He states "Being a doctor is much more than filling in the dots on a computer screen."

Additionally, he notes, several government departments, attorneys, insurance companies, media and credentialing services monitor physicians and can take action. 

You can read the full article here.  This is one of the latest fights against maintenance of certification that are introduced in several states across the nation. 

NAMEC Member Physicians’ Education Resource is hosting the first annual International Congress on the Future of Neurology conference September 27 to 28. The location will be in New York City at the Intercontinental New York Time Square. Chairing the educational program is Stephen D. Silberstein, M.D., professor of neurology, director, Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University.

The Congress is a two-day comprehensive meeting that will review the latest data and the best practices for treating patients in the eight core areas of neurological disorders: dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, headache and migraine, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, neuromuscular disorders, stroke and sleep disorders. 

Learn more about this program.

According to an article by Tranparency Market Research, a U.S.-based provider of syndicated research, customized research, and consulting services, the Continuing Medical Education (CME) market is expected to have tremendous growth through 2026.

The collaboration between medical societies and industry in medical education is the much debated opportunity for the delivery of the continuing medical education to the physicians.

The importance of accreditation was noted in the article.  ACCME is the main widely known accrediting body for CME in the United States.  

Additional information about this forecast for CME can be found at the full article at HonestBusinessman.com.

NAMEC Member CME Outfitters recently announced the launch of two new CME Snacks, Understanding the Big Picture of Pain and Pain Assessment, and Providing the Right Expectations: Understanding the Pathophysiology of Pain.  These 15 minute online activities feature expert faculty members Mark S. Gold, MD, and Steven P. Stanos, DO.

The new launches are part of a CME Outfitters and USF Health nationwide educational initiative to combat inappropriate use of opioids in the management of acute and chronic pain. More information about the project called Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action to Save Our Communities, can be found at the linked press release here.