A recent presentation by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) gave a brief overview on an AHRQ CME/CE Project in Comparative Effectiveness. The project noted that it will be utilizing 5 converging contractors:
- Academic Detailing
- CME/CE – ce.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov
- Stakeholder Relationships
- Consumer Education
- Outcomes
Several things will be evaluated in this project. First, the outcomes and effectiveness comparisons of programs will be measured for:
- Non-CME live in physician offices (academic detailing)
- Non-CME, non-promotional education (regional relationships)
- Direct-to-Consumer promotional education
- CME/CE
The data and metrics used in order to determine the outcomes and effectiveness in these programs will include:
- Change in clinician awareness, understanding
- Utility of the studies, tools available
- Benefits related to comparative effectiveness research and effective health care program; and
- Value of CME/CE
AHRQ noted in its presentation that this project is the “largest multi-year, multi-contractor educational initiative involving CME/CE ever funded by AHRQ. It is the first time that CME/CE outcomes will be collected, measured, analyzed and reported by a governmental agency for an extended period of time (includes OMB review and approval of survey instrument). The project provides and opportunity to prove through validated methods (OMB) that CME/CE is valuable and measurable tool in improving clinical practice.
PRIME Education will assist AHRQ in awareness, information, and dissemination throughout all segments of CME/CE. They will identify opportunities and champions among individuals and organizations through which PRIME can elicit support. PRIME will also identify methods to encourage clinician participation in six month and one year impact surveys.
The presentation then discussed what this project will hold in the short and long term. Short term, the project will give validation and confirmation of the ongoing value of CME/CE to improve clinical performance and patient care. The project will also position the ACME as the primary voice of continuing education for the interprofessional healthcare community.
Long term, the project provides the opportunity to establish for the government (and OMB) a single evaluation/outcomes tool to measure the value of CME/CE. This might be a measure level that is population-based impact from CME/CE. It is important that as many CE providers as applicable link to the AHRQ programs to improve participation and support the efforts. This is an important test project which will show the importance of CE as compared to the other education and information modalities.