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The Status of CME
For years, we’ve been educating physicians about the latest therapies and medical devices. However, equal emphasis should now be placed on helping them to integrate the educational information into changes in performance and to navigate the complexities of the current healthcare system to ensure that barriers to implementation are removed or overcome.
Diagnostic and therapeutic challenges faced by physicians continue to increase, while the escalating requirements and expectations of insurance companies leave them (and their patients) exasperated. The end result is that physicians are left to figure out how to do it all.
As CME providers, how can we continue to help physicians overcome the barriers of improving their clinical practice? The answer may be simpler than you think: Use CME to complete the educational cycle and provide clinicians with tools and strategies to implement what we've taught them.
Make it Simple
In a recent CME activity, clinicians were educated about a new surgical procedure and how to coordinate patient follow up with their non-physician staff. This single educational intervention resulted in a profound reduction in adverse events noted after the procedure due to improved patient screening before the procedure and follow up at the right time. Patient care and health outcome were improved. How was this accomplished? By giving physicians a simple plan of action to implement what was taught. Of equal importance, the activity raised awareness of potential barriers that should be avoided in the physicians' clinical practices.
If we develop CME activities that address the administrative realities of modern clinical practice, the results can be profound. Here are a few ideas to consider:
- Provide education that gives a hands-on or informal discussion component to accelerate integration into physicians’ clinical considerations.
- Addresses the administrative components of the physicians' and non-physicians’ daily duties.
- Include resource materials that can serve as follow up education that can reinforce and sustain the learning related to the content of the CME activities.
Efforts such as these can arm clinicians with strategies that can be put into practice immediately and may contribute to improvements in patient care.
The doctors were delighted, the educational session was flawless and the venue and staff support all met expectations at your important event. So why are you feeling a bit anxious? Your boss has asked you to once again sharpen your pencil and reduce costs…yet you are still accountable for even higher productivity. Something’s got to give!
Clarify the Problem
A common reaction is to locate vendors that can provide services at a lower cost, but is this really the best approach? A reduced-cost vendor may have a lot of unexpected or hidden pass-through expenses, that result is a much higher cost in the long run. Companies are often not fully aware of how much they are actually paying for a meeting because they only considered the fixed costs, such as facility fees and fees for procuring tissue. It’s the pass-through charges, however, that can really add up. What is the cost of food and beverage per person? Is there a separate charge for personal protective equipment (PPEs), tissue disposal and clean up?
Vendor travel is also an area where cost can easily get out of control. Booking air travel early can result in huge savings, but there is no incentive for a vendor to do so if it’s a pass-through cost. Make sure you are examining all the costs, fixed and hidden, as well as the vendors’ policies, procedures and their general culture and values of how they do business.
Initial savings with a reduced-cost vendor can result in a failed event if the vendor is unable to properly implement your event. Tissue that is not of sufficient quality to achieve the educational objectives of the program will leave a negative impression with the doctors. Also, mistakes that result in legal or safety concerns can be potentially devastating to the health of your attendees and the reputation of your company. In the end, is it worth cutting costs when quality and safety are concerned?
Take control
If you are working with vendors that have served you well in the past, ask them to sharpen their pencils. Are they willing to consider a reduction in fees in exchange for a guarantee of greater business volume? Volume discounts are a win-win for clients and vendors alike. Make a list of expenses that commonly spiral out of control and have a conversation with your vendor about your concerns. Request bundled fees when possible. Science Care has recently moved to a model where staff support fees are fixed (including staff time, airfare, lodging, meals, and local transportation. In general, this results in a significant savings to our clients and guarantees that they know the final cost of their event, up front.
Reaching Success
You and your company can mitigate potential risk by being assured of the highest quality and safety standards. Working with a high quality and ethical partner will achieve your desired results every time, and you may also enjoy a reduced cost for your event.
The views expressed in this Blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Care.
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Human Tissue for Research and Education: Use of Human Tissue for Medical Research and Education: Is It Time to Regulate the Industry?
Continuing Medical Education has experienced extreme scrutiny over the past few years, a trend that is expected to intensify. Unfortunately the defense of the industry and appropriate business practices has been slow to come. In my opinion we have failed to demonstrate that educational events can improve healthcare and reduce costs.
In this economy we all need to be innovators in this industry and elevate our level of performance. We must collectively publish our educational outcomes data, but, even more importantly, we must have meaningful data to publish. Our success stories must be showcased at national meetings and receive the media attention they deserve. Only then can we assume our place as catalysts for improvements in healthcare delivery.
On a daily basis, we meet individuals who have been silently touched by CME. The woman walking in the street who would have been debilitated by severe asthma, the custodian whose rheumatoid arthritis is in remission and can still work, and even closer to home — the beloved family member who, in her battle against advanced lung cancer, has responded to new therapies when standard chemotherapy had failed. In each instance, off-label use of agents, which is openly discussed in CME activities, has dramatically improved the lives of these individuals. These stories are now commonplace because of industry, government, and foundation support that has led to increased availability of CME. As providers, we must all work harder to ensure that clinicians continue to receive cutting-edge CME that addresses their validated educational needs, and that the benefits of CME to society are transparent to all. Perhaps Mahatma Gandhi said it best: “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Let's all heed that call.
This post has been adapted from the original article that appears in the citation below
http://meetingsnet.com/cmepharma/cme/meetings_fight_cme/
The views expressed in this Blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Science Care.
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