A University of Florida and the PeerView Institute for Medical Education (PVI) survey of 592 US physicians across a variety of specialties on their views on modern CME, shows that physicians rely on commercially supported CME and would take fewer courses if commercial support were eliminated.
The research focused on four main themes:
– Perceptions regarding bias in CME activities;
– Attitudes toward performance improvement directed CME;
– Relative effectiveness and impact of different educational formats; and
– Opinions concerning the impact of out-of-pocket costs on CME participation
On the issue of bias, 69% of respondents noted that there was no bias as a result of pharmaceutical or device company financially supported the continuing education program they participated in during the past year.
Moreover, of the 31% of respondents who believed that a CME program they attended was bias because of pharmaceutical or device company financial support, 85% of those respondents said they contacted the accredited provider to address this bias.
Ultimately, 90% of respondents stated that continuing education that is free to physicians is necessary, and 58% stated they would do less continuing education if it were no longer free, asserting the need for continued industry support of CME.
Other interesting results regarding current beliefs of physicians regarding modern CME practices included the following:
– Almost 20% of the respondents knew that commercial supporters could provide funding but nothing else.
– Almost 50% knew that commercial supporters could provide funding, but they also thought they could provide input into at least one of the other areas.
– 18% did not know what the polices were regarding industry support of CME activities.
– Over 60% of respondents agreed or completely agreed that commercial support of continuing education by pharmaceutical or device companies is appropriate, while 21% neither agreed nor disagreed, and only 4% completely disagreed
– 50% of respondents either disagreed or completely disagreed that bias in continuing education precludes physicians from having a meaningful educational experience, 26% neither agreed nor disagreed, and only 4% completely agreed
Regarding the use of disclosure forms, the survey revealed 55% of respondents reviewed faculty disclosure information before participating in CME programs, and of that group, 85% of them take those disclosure policies into consideration and still participate in CME.
Concerning the use of financial support of the CME program, 56% of the survey noted that they look to see who is providing the financial support before participating. Respondents noted that when considering who was funding the CME program it helped them decide if bias was possible, allowed for healthy skepticism, and a more critical review of the program.
This study shows that physician participation in CME provides numerous benefits and advances to both doctors and patients.
University of Florida-PeerView Institute Study