3rd Annual Medical Education Congress
Presented by Institute for International Research (IIR)
Date: May 2-4, 2007
Location: Loews Philadelphia Hotel, Philadelphia, Pa.
Due to my passion for training and development, I looked forward to attending the Medical Education Congress to learn about the trends and issues impacting this arena. The conference was well planned and brought together leaders from the industry of continuing education to provide updates on the practice as well as to enable an exchange of information among professionals in the practice. I learned a great deal over the two days I attended and met some important contacts.
Enjoy the overview.
Anne Llewellyn, RN.C, MS, BHSA, CCM, CRRN
Editor-in-Chief
Out & About Overview:
Effective patient care requires continuous learning on the part of those who deliver that care. There is an urgent need to bridge the gap between advances in research and how that information is translated into practice. MedED 2007 delivered to attendees information on how organizations can achieve quality outcomes through innovative educational program, new practices, learning modules and technologies geared to the adult learner.
I was able to attend the pre-conference symposia, which covered two topics that are on the radar screen of many involved in continuing education. The first program, “Enhancing Value: Return-on-Education, Needs Assessment and Outcome Measurements,” gave an excellent overview of some of the innovative ways organizations are assessing their staff’s educational needs and demonstrating value for the programs they provide.
The second program — “Engaging the Learner: New Media, Technology and Course Design” — shed light on how technology is changing the way educational activities are provided and included an overview of new tools that enable learners to demonstrate their understanding of the material and how they will use the information in practice.
Highlights:
Representatives from the Senate Finance Committee reported on the ongoing investigation of pharmaceutical companies’ grants for medical education. The committee, chaired by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.), suggests that some independent educational programs may still be susceptible to excessive influence by pharmaceutical sponsors, and that the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s (ACCME) oversight is insufficient to guarantee independence. If you would like information on this report, you can download the report: Senate Finance Committee Report (PDF, 114 pages).
Pharmaceutical industry leaders talked about their requirements and how they are taking the concept of independence of CME activities seriously by ensuring a separation between marketing and the compliance department. Companies that want to work with pharma, need to know the rules and make certain their organizations have policies and procedures in place to ensure their own compliance. Today, those working in pharmaceutical compliance departments are savvy regarding the requirements and are looking for companies they can trust to follow those rules.
One of the most important things about going to any conference is talking to the exhibitors who support the meeting. The vendors at this show brought new products that can be a great help in reporting data from programs to demonstrate the value of continuing education. Today with Pay for Performance (P4P) on the horizon, those involved in quality, provider relations and continuing education will need to work together to define the metrics necessary to evaluate how practitioners and providers are utilizing continuing education to improve their practices. Many of the companies at the show have developed software programs that capture information and generate reports. There were some very interesting tools on the market, too, that can be used to evaluate progress and make objective decisions on payment strategies.
Networking with other continuing education professionals who have implemented successful programs and used new technologies to provide educational activities that help professionals improve their practices.
Take-Away Thoughts:
I thought this meeting was excellent for anyone responsible for continuing education. I had not been to a conference that Institute for International Research had produced in the past, but was pleased with the topics covered, the caliber of the faculty who presented the material and the willingness of the attendees to share information and bring forth issues and challenges they face in their practices. I will definitely look for information on next year’s conference as this was a valuable tool for me; it met my own continuing education needs. To learn more about Institute for International Research and other IIR meetings, go to www.iirusa.com.
