Services Offered by the Office of Continuing Education at CFMC

The Office of Continuing Education (OCE) is dedicated to improved patient care through learning. The OCE works closely with joint sponsors to provide tools, services and support which enable learners to make those improvements. These tools and services are continually updated and modified to meet the strict guidelines of accrediting entities and to meet the needs of joint sponsors and their target audience. Specific tools and services are modified for each customer according to their needs for professional credit. We not only serve as a joint sponsor for your activity, but as an active partner in accomplishing your goals.

CFMC is the Medicare quality improvement organization (QIO) for Colorado and is the only QIO with national accreditation to provide professional credit for both physicians and nurses. We will work closely with you in your efforts to improve patient care through the continuing education program. To improve patient care through education we offer professional credit, attentive service, exceptional tools, and continuous support to all of our joint sponsors.

CFMC Rolls Out Three Models for Business

CFMC is a national leader and forerunner in continuing education. Over the past 15 years, CFMC has dedicated themselves to improving patient care through education. After carefully assessing the needs of the health care community, CFMC responds to those needs with the announcement of three lines of business driven to serve the community. Summer of 2008 marks the beginning of a future filled with valuable products that will increase the effectiveness of our customers.

Model 1: CE Accreditation, Direct and Joint Sponsoring – As a nationally accredited organization, CFMC will serve as a joint sponsor to your CE activity and as a partner to help you accomplish your goals. Our tools and services not only meet recognized standards but are customized for each customer to meet their individual needs.

Model 2: CFMC Online Health Care Educational Courses – By combining vast experience in CE content with superb technological resources, CFMC is able to develop and execute high quality online health care educational courses. In today’s market, these types of courses are a major asset to any CE program.

Model 3: Educational Events Planning – There are a multitude of tasks to be accomplished when planning an educational event. The CE community, like many, is now working with a smaller staff to accomplish more goals than ever. CFMC now offers educational events planning. This service allows you to concentrate on other tasks while feeling secure that your event will be planned and organized down to the smallest detail.

If you are interested in accreditation and joint sponsoring, online health care educational courses, or educational events planning please click here to request more information or call Craig Mattingly, MBA at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3360.

National Accreditation:

• CFMC is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). This allows CFMC to joint sponsor with organizations nationwide to offer credit to physicians who attend their educational activities.
• CFMC is also a national provider of continuing nursing education, as certified by Colorado Nursing Association as an accredited approver of continuing education in nursing by The American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Other Professional Credits:

There are often activities with learners other than physicians and nurses. These are the occasions in which CFMC will partner with other accrediting organizations to provide customers with a multitude of varying types of professional credits. Such credits can include:

• NAHQ Credit (National Association for Healthcare Quality) for Certified Professionals in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ).
• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Prescribed or Elective credits.
• Pharmacy credit hours.
• American Psychological Association (APA):
  CFMC awarded APA approval to sponsor Continuing Education for Psychologists The Colorado Foundation for Medical Care has been approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. For information on offering APA credit at your next activity, email or call Craig Mattingly, MBA at yourCEsource@cfmc.org or 303-784-5759.

Support services include:

• Reviewing the customer’s internally developed activities for credit.
• Providing resources for complete implementation of the customer’s education activity.
• Tailoring existing programs to meet specific needs.
• Developing new programs for small teams or large national groups.

Consultation, implementation, and documentation tools and services offered:

• Streamlined, fast, and accurate process for credit application.
• Forms, samples, and templates for implementation.
• Timelines created for individual continuing education (CE) activities.
• Checklists for documentation and organization.
• Consultation on needs assessment, education design, evaluation, and all essential areas for CME and ANCC criteria.
• Internet-based management of participant courses, credits, certificates, as well as forum discussions regarding continuing education.
• Outcomes measurement of activities using an immediate statement of intent along with follow-up participant surveys on applied learning to determine change as a result of an activity.

The CE program at CFMC enhances the ability of health care professionals to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Activities with evidenced-based education design produce measurable results and ongoing quality improvement. All attendees make subjective assessments through individual evaluations. Results of these quality improvement studies and of participant evaluation responses are compiled and used to update needs assessment materials, forecast future continuing education activities and improve content and format development.

Live Activities: Whether in person or virtually, these formats range from national conferences and live Internet teleconferences to local workshops, seminars, grand rounds or departmental scientific meetings.

Enduring Materials: These materials include printed, recorded, audio, video and/or online/electronic activities that may be used over time.

Journal-based CME: This describes the process by which accredited providers identify an article, within a peer-reviewed, professional journal, that serves as a planned learning activity.

Test Item Writing: A learning process wherein physicians contribute to the development of high stakes examinations, or certain self-assessment modules, by researching, drafting and defending potential questions.

Manuscript Review: Another learning process in which physicians, under the collaborative direction of a journal editor and an accredited provider, critically review assigned journal manuscripts.

Performance Improvement: Structured, long-term processes by which a physician or group of physicians can learn about specific performance measures, retrospectively assess their practice, apply these measures prospectively over a useful interval, and re-evaluate their performance.

Internet, enduring materials: 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.