Caroline Robinson, PhD (Vice President, Research and Assessment Services, CE Outcomes, LLC); Rejean Rochette (Vice President, Medical Education, Medscape Education, LLC); Katie Anders (Senior Director, Medical Education, Medscape Education, LLC); Nancy Roepke (Senior Account Executive, CE Outcomes, LLC); Jason Singer, PharmD, CCMEP (Consultant – Medical Education Grants, Lilly USA, LLC); Ro Brual, R.Ph. (Associate Consultant, Medical Education, Lilly USA, LLC); Maziar Abdolrasulnia, PhD, MBA (President, CE Outcomes, LLC)

Synopsis

To address the comprehensive learning needs of primary care physicians who manage patients with chronic pain, a unique model for online learning was designed, the “Prescribed Learning Model” (PLM). This CME model has several features that enable efficient and effective learning to take place, including a clinician self-assessment to identify unmet clinician needs, immediate feedback including a set of “prescribed” CME activities to meet individual learner needs, and varying educational interventions to match content to learning needs. This research will present findings on the immediate and longitudinal impact of the program on clinician knowledge, confidence, skill and communication and on patient outcomes, to evaluate the efficacy of this CME design strategy.

Purpose

CME aims to meet clinician learning needs by providing accessible, relevant information. However, it remains challenging for clinicians to efficiently identify and access CME meeting their specific learning goals. The prescribed learning model (PLM) for CME customizes the path of a clinician’s education, delivering content based on identified need, thereby enhancing the impact of content on identified knowledge or competency gaps. This research aims to assess the impact of a comprehensive PLM CME program on physician performance and, by extension, patient outcomes.

Methods

Within the chronic pain PLM CME, physicians complete a self-assessment to measure knowledge, practice patterns, and barriers related to the management of chronic pain. Immediate feedback, including recommended, or “prescribed,” educational activities, is provided to learners. Post-assessment results are measured against baseline assessments and a matched control to determine the impact of the education. Additionally, physician-matched patient outcomes are assessed against patient controls to assess the longitudinal impact of the CME on patient care and outcomes.

Results

The results from this research include measures of physician decision-making and patient care and longitudinal patient-level outcomes. Comparative results of the PLM model, relative to a control and over time, will be presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the PLM CME.