Posted on August 16th, 2010

Webcast: Pfizer First Friday Webinar Series: Outcomes Assessment
Date: Friday, August 6, 2010
Presenter: Don E. Moore, Jr., Ph.D
Slides: PDF click here
Notes:
Planning & Assessment Framework for CME Planners

  •  Start each activity by defining a logical assessment process:
    - Start with the end in mind. “Backwards” planning starts with the needs assessment
    - Best practice planning begins with examining a community health gap (not just a physician practice gap)
    - It’s important to define the type of gap: Performance gap? Knowledge gap? Competence gap? Administrative and patient issues should also be considered.
  • Outcomes Planning:
    -Think about the outcomes you would like to see and realize that different outcomes require different approaches in planning.
    - Best practice uses health records as objective measures to examine changed practice and/or surveys or case-based questions as subjective measures
  • Consider physician learning stages when planning activities and formats:
  • Planner will:
    Pre-dispose learner→
    Enable learner→
    Reinforce learning
    Learner will:
    Recognize need for improvement→
    Take ownership for improvement→
    Incorporate what was learned into practice→

  • Provide opportunities for practice and feedback
  • - To insure that the knowledge will transfer to the learner’s daily practice, the guidance must be practice-based

  •  Ideal methods of reinforcement:
    CME coaches
    Performance dashboards
    Traveling competence teams
    - Why do pilots need to go through a certain number of simulation hours before they can be licensed? Shouldn’t physicians have to do the same?
  • Implement, Monitor, and Evaluate with “Plan, Do, Study, Act” format
    - Planning, Implementation, and Outcomes Assessment should be a circular process to improve CME over time, with Outcomes Assessments revealing further practice needs or directing planners to address leftover gaps.
    - Ideal follow-up would track learners at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months
  •  Successful program elements can be identified and incorporated into other CME activities.