The Changing Face of CME in Europe: Where Are We Now?
This review by Eugene Pozniak provides a robust definition of CME and its purpose, details the wide-ranging activities considered worthy of accreditation and looks at industry involvement in CME activities, exploring the many pitfalls and benefits.
If you were in the unfortunate position of being stopped by a police officer for an indiscretion, before being reprimanded you would expect the officer to be familiar with the finer points of the law. Likewise, if you spoke to an accountant on a tax matter, you would not be best pleased to be given advice only to find out that your accountant had not read anything on the topic for a year and that tax legislation had subsequently changed. So what of the medical profession? You visit your doctor and present a set of symptoms that leads to a straightforward diagnosis. You would hope to be given the optimal treatment based on the best available evidence. In fact, you would expect nothing less. So how effective are clinicians at keeping up to date with advances in modern medicine? Fortunately, history tells us that they are pretty good and that, although Continuing Medical Education (CME) as a formality is a relatively recent development, doctors have for centuries been conditioned to stay abreast of medical developments. It is part of their job.
At present, health systems across the globe are under increasing pressure as growing healthcare budgets struggle to keep up with advances in treatment and patient care. As technology moves on and clinical practices are developed and shared, the expectations of the medical profession, governments and patients alike have all risen. CME has also, in turn, crossed borders; the ideas and systems that were first seeded in the USA soon after the Second World War, and which have been increasingly formalised since the 1970s, are now spreading globally. Though still very much in its infancy in most countries, CME is seen as a useful tool to enable professionals to quantify how they are keeping up to date with developments that ultimately improve patient care.
As with all modern continuous professional development, the number of stakeholders has increased to include not just the profession concerned, but also the recipients and beneficiaries of the services. In the case of CME, this includes patients, through their representatives (e.g. the government or patient groups), and also the people who fund educational activities: a major contributor to this is, of course, the healthcare industry.
This review examines CME from a European viewpoint, drawing parallels with the more familiar aspects of US CME where appropriate. The aim is to approach each sub-topic with the healthcare industry and their agencies in mind, concentrating on the practicalities, while addressing how the more important theories have emerged.
CONTENTS
Introduction
About the author
CME in Europe
What is the status of CME in Europe?
What constitutes a CME activity?
How is CME funded?
Industry and CME
What does the future hold for CME?
Conclusion
References
Further reading
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Eugene Pozniak is Managing Director of Siyemi Learning, an independent CME provider based in Europe. He has worked in the medical sector for 20 years: following a degree in chemistry, he traced a path through pharmaceutical sales, advertising and medical communications. His introduction to CME came in 1996 when he organised a series of CME-accredited (PGEA) meetings on the newly emerging topic of evidence-based medicine (EBM), coinciding with the publication of David Sackett’s influential book on the topic.1 His fascination with CME and EBM continued until 8 years ago, when, with the growing possibilities in European CME, he fi nally made the change to working exclusively in CME.
As well as running CME-accredited meetings, Eugene developed the first pan- European CME accredited e-learning (launched in 2002), national CME-accredited portals and has been at the forefront of European journal CME. In addition, he has developed a number of ‘non-CME-non-promotional’ Independent Education projects. He has experience of CME across Europe, the USA, Asia Pacific and Latin America.
In 2006, Eugene founded Siyemi Learning, an independent provider of CME products and related services, assisting medical societies, the healthcare industry and their agencies with national and international CME and Independent Educational projects. Previously he was Director of Global CME (ex-US) at Wolters Kluwer Health.
The European market for Continuing Medical Education (CME) is heterogeneous. In the absence of a single, overarching regulatory body for CME activity across the region, individual countries are at varying stages of implementation. As such, the accreditation process throughout the continent is a splintered affair, governed by four different types of regulatory authority: National Accreditation Authorities, the European Accreditation Council for CME, European Specialty Accreditation Boards and Accredited Providers.
The attitude to CME differs from country to country. Across Europe, each individual autonomous healthcare system has different requirements and expectations of its doctors. In some countries, CME is mandatory, while in others, it is voluntary. In some, it is neither understood nor recognised. However, even in areas where CME is a legal obligation, enforcing compliance remains a challenge. Incentives and punitive measures, some seemingly Draconian, have been introduced to encourage and enforce uptake, but so far a successful method to police the system has yet to emerge.
Despite such a confusing environment, CME-accredited education is regarded as being important. The Changing Face of CME in Europe looks at the current climate, assessing some of the factors critical to a successful CME evolution across Europe. It provides a robust definition of CME and its purpose, and details the wide-ranging activities considered worthy of accreditation. In addition, it offers practical advice on how to develop a CME programme, exploring in detail how pre- and post-activity are as important as the educational activity itself.
Significantly, this Expert Review looks at industry involvement in CME activities, exploring the many pitfalls and benefits. The axiom that CME is ‘education for doctors, written by doctors, presented by doctors’ dictates that there should be no direct industry involvement in specific CME programmes. However, the corporate goodwill derived from being associated with high-quality educational activity, and the benefits of increased therapeutic awareness within the prescribing community, make CME a vital consideration for industry. Whilst it is clear that companies cannot stipulate, manipulate or influence CME content, it is equally clear that companies who fail to support it may somehow be relinquishing an opportunity for competitive advantage. [BACK TO TOP]
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