How Clinical Care Options Met Healthcare Professionals’ Needs in Real Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Clinical Care Options (CCO) recently published a White Paper on Meeting Healthcare Professionals’ Needs in Real Time During the Evolving COVID-19 Pandemic, presenting “findings of how fluid programming can meet the needs of HCPs in understanding the rapidly evolving data published on COVID-19.” Shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic started, CCO “immediately initiated an ongoing education program about COVID-19 for HCPs,” and then continued to develop educational activities on the disease.
As noted in the White Paper, the initial uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic revolved around best practices for patient care while scientists were performing evidence-based research on a shortened timeline. Information was rapidly changing and an efficient distribution of educational material was of the utmost importance. Rockpointe “immediately initiated self-funded, accredited educational programming about COVID-19 for HCPs” and as the pandemic continued and new scientific information was released, Rockpointe continued to develop “educational activities on key aspects of the disease, including high-risk populations and treatment options.”
Rockpointe performed needs assessments and gap analyses prior to developing each educational activity, allowing Rockpointe to identify unmet educational needs among HCPs and describe the gaps that needed to be filled. Initially, in February 2020, Rockpointe identified concerns over the basic understanding of SARS-CoV-2, and presented “Understanding and Addressing the Global Spread of COVID-19: A Healthcare Professional’s Guide.” In March 2020, the educational gaps shifted to understanding how to manage patients with the disease, and Rockpointe presented “COVID-19 in the Ambulatory Care Setting: A Practical Guide for the Multidisciplinary Team.”
As time went on, the focus shifted to certain populations and the impact COVID-19 had on them. To that end, Rockpointe presented educational activities centered around obesity and COVID-19, lung cancer and COVID-19, diabetes and COVID-19, dermatology and COVID-19, and prostate cancer and COVID-19. The White Paper outlines the activities presented by Rockpointe during the pandemic, as well as the educational gaps that were addressed by each activity and the learning objectives.
Findings
The White Paper then goes on to discuss the learner demographics for each activity, as well as pretest and posttest results for each activity. Each activity led to an increase in confidence from attendees in each learning objective.
For example, for the activity of “Understanding and Addressing the Global Spread of COVID-19: A Healthcare Professional’s Guide,” there were 127 webinar learners (57% MD/DO, 18% RN/BSN, 9% NP/PA, 1% PharmD, and 15% Other) and 506 webcast learners (56% MD/DO, 11% RN/BSN, 12% NP/PA, 2% PharmD, and 19% Other). Prior to the educational activity, 71% of learners were unaware of the incubation time for COVID-19 and 26% were unaware of proper transmission prevention protocols, including that patients with suspected COVID-19 should wear a mask (29%). Based on the information presented in the educational activity, 98% of learners felt they learned strategies to improve their practice and care for their patients. Pretest and posttest scores also demonstrated that the participants had a “substantial improvement” in their knowledge related to the stated learning objectives.
The educational activity “High-Risk Patients with COVID-19: Outpatient Management to Prevent Progression” was developed to address the real-time need for education on how to mitigate disease severity in high-risk patient groups. Prior to the webinar series, HCPs had low confidence in their ability to appropriately incorporate mAb treatment in the outpatient treatment of patients with COVID-19. After the activity, however, 83% of HCPs found themselves to be “confident,” “very confident,” or “expert.” 99% of respondents agreed that the program provided them with the tools and information to improve their practice and prepared them to care for their patients.
Future Educational Opportunities
The White Paper closes out by noting that COVID-19 variants continue to evolve with differing levels of transmissibility and severity, and that certain populations remain at an increased risk for both acquiring the disease and developing a more severe disease if infected.
At the same time, we continue to learn more through evidence-based guidelines and data. As knowledge and best practices “continue to expand, the need for ongoing high-quality continuing education for HCPs who are likely to care for patients with COVID-19 cannot be underestimated.” As COVID-19 remains a “dynamic disease,” those who provide continuing medical education “must remain committed to the development of frequent educational activities on relevant topics with the most recent and accurate information available,” as it translates to better patient care.
To download a full copy of the White Paper, click here.