CME, New ACCME Criteria for 2008 and Beyond (New Series)

The new ACCME criteria and model of thinking is an important change for CME. During implementation, these changes are continuously being incorporated into the way providers are working with their co-sponsors. All of the updated ACCME criteria must be in place by 2012. We will be discussing these changes over the next several months in an effort to help you understand what this will mean for you and your activities. The focus of CFMC as an educator and co-sponsor is to work diligently to improve patient care.

Over the past decade the 1998 ACCME model for activity planning, pictured below, has contributed directly to the effectiveness of CME in regards to providing educational opportunities that help physicians improve quality of care. The information provided in this article comes directly from the ACCME’s “CME as a Bridge to Quality” Updated Accreditation Criteria manual.

1998 ACCME Accreditation (click to enlarge)

The manual speaks to the new criteria by saying “ACCME believes that CME can make an important contribution to the system-based initiatives being implemented in the U.S. today to narrow the “quality gap.” The focus now is on contributing to enhancements to one or more of the physician’s toolbox of strategies for patient care (competence), their actual performance-in-practice, and/or their patient outcomes.” As your activities co-sponsor, CFMC will be working with you to determine education interventions that align with the mission of improving patient care. This is an excellent way to improve your program and to deliver content that will impact your learners in a strategic manner.


New ACCME CME Criteria (click to enlarge)

The new criteria will focus on defining your mission to include competence, performance and patient outcomes. This mission will drive learning interventions comprised of the learners’ needs, the activity objectives, planning and standards for commercial support. These interventions lead to the impact of the activity and the program as a whole.
This series will concentrate on specific criteria and strategies that will ensure regulation compliance as well as enhancing and defining your mission. Some areas of focus will be:

• Integrating CME into improving practice.
• Impact on patient outcomes.
• Understanding and utilizing non-education strategies.
• Addressing barriers to physician change.
• Building bridges.
• Changes in scope and content.

We will be enhancing and focusing our program to align with the new criteria of the ACCME and to help our co-sponsors succeed in bringing a quality program to their learners in order to positively affect patient care. If you have any comments or questions on this series please contact Lorraine Pickrell by email at lprickrell@cfmc.org.

Expand Your CE Impact: Online Enduring Material CE

The January 2008 newsletter introduced the concept of creating new learning opportunities by “recycling” previously created activities. This resource saving technique allows planners to develop new materials from previously completed activities. Each month we will focus on a different learning method in an effort to educate CE planners on the value and requirements of each method. This month we will focus attention on creating Online enduring material CE. The routines we all endure seem to grow more hectic every day. Using the Online environment for shopping, communicating, and learning expands continuously to supply these experiences to those with busy lives that demand it. Expanding into this arena is a natural progression for many CE planners.

Online enduring material CE is defined as Online learning by physicians on topics relevant to their clinical practice in a structured and self-directed manner. Learning for this activity is driven by a reflective process in which physicians must document their clinical question, the sources consulted and the application to practice. Enduring material is defined as “a non-live CME activity that "endures" over time. The learning experience by the physician can take place at any time in any place, rather than only at one time, and one place, like a live CME activity.”

Explore the Online environment to identify methods by which you can deliver Online Enduring Material CE. Original and technological advancing ideas are great but there are many methods that are tried and true for delivering educational content Online. If you have videotaped a live CE activity or recorded an audio activity consider creating movie or audio files as your next activity. These can be broken into learning sections to make download time faster and to facilitate self-directed learning. Text as slides is a simple method of allowing learners to work through content when their schedule allows. By freeing the time of your learners you will create a more relaxed and stress free environment for learning.

Like all CE activities, Online Enduring Material CE has criteria that must comply with accreditation policies, standards for commercial support and align with essential areas and elements. These criteria help ensure that standards are met and to allow the greatest opportunity for success to your learners. Criteria specific to Online Enduring Material CE are listed below to help guide you when choosing the best method for delivering your CE content:

• Online Enduring Material CE may not be put on a website that is owned or controlled by a commercial interest.
• Links to product websites are allowed only before or after the educational content, the links cannot be embedded within the content itself. These links must clearly notify the learner that they are leaving the educational site.
• All accreditation information (ACCME) must be transmitted to the learner before they begin the activity.
• The educational content must be just that, content. No advertising is permitted within the educational content. As a reminder, this includes advertisements such as banner ads, subliminal ads and pop-up windows. Promotional materials and advertisements may not appear at anytime on the screen when the educational content is being viewed. This includes between windows or screens during content delivery.
• Prior to the start of the Online Enduring Material CE, you must inform the learner about what hardware and software are required for the learner to participate.
• Provide contact information to your learner, they must have a way to contact you if they have questions about the activity.

The Online environment is a valuable resource for providing educational content. Developing Online Enduring Material CE as a method for growing your CE impact in the community is good to consider now and in the future. If you would like to discuss the development of Online Enduring Material CE or have other questions, please contact Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3372 or visit www.yourCEsource.org for more information.

Gathering a Planning Committee

Gathering your Planning Committee is an essential step to take early in your process. This committee will help you to determine the needs of learners, the content of the activity, the method(s) of delivering the content, and in evaluating the activity and progress of learners. Activities offering certain professional credit require specific types of persons to be active on your Planning Committee. For example, when offering CME you will be required to have a physician member on your committee. When offering CNE you will be required to have a nurse planner as a member.
Before your committee meets it is important to provide them the necessary information for working. Though this group is very valuable for determining topics through needs assessments, you can get the ball rolling with a list of potential topics you have gathered. This list may also include target audiences if your program varies targeted learners from topic to topic. A vital resource to your Planning Committee will be the guidelines for obtaining professional credit from the accrediting agency. These guidelines will serve as a structure during the planning phase. CFMC will also be able to provide templates that serve to ensure the activity will meet necessary requirements. Informing your committee about budget and time constraints will allow them to meet your needs on other levels.

Working with the accrediting agency, the Planning Committee will evaluate and begin to develop content. The professionals you have gathered provide a valuable resource in many areas of expertise. They also provide a networking system that can provide a rich source of speakers and teachers for your activity. Remember that standards for commercial support must be met in regards to each individual of the committee. For more information on these standards and gathering a Planning Committee, please contact Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3372 or visit us on the web www.yourCEsource.org.

Professional Credit

CFMC is a national accredited provider of CME and CNE. We also partner with other organizations on a regular basis to bring you professional credits for NAHQ, AAFP, and Pharmacy. For more information please call Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3372 or visit us on the web www.yourCEsource.org.

Feedback

As part of a quality improvement organization, it is our goal to continually strive for improvement. If you have comments or suggestions, we would like to hear from you. Visit us at www.yourCEsource.org or contact Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3139, email yourCEsource@cfmc.org.