Continuing Medical Education

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Submission & evaluation

Included in the on-line form is a brief evaluation of the activity effectiveness and its usefulness to the physician's clinical practice.

Accreditation

Aurora Health Care is accredited by the Wisconsin Medical Society to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Aurora Health Care designates this Internet point-of-care activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This CME activity was planned and produced in accordance with the Wisconsin Medical Society Essential Areas, Elements and Policies.

Purpose

The purpose of the Internet Point of Care is to provide structured, self-directed, online learning for physicians on topics relevant to their clinical practice. The specific objectives are to:

  1. Identify practice-based knowledge needs
  2. Complete extensive background research on a clinical question
  3. Reinforce clinical decisions through review of published evidence
  4. Learn new information related to clinical practice
  5. Translate knowledge into professional practice
  6. Improve patient care by utilizing current published evidence.

The teaching method will consist of self-directed learning of a self-identified clinical question through use of evidence-based medical databases that are accessible through the Aurora medical library website. The physician will identify and consult relevant sources and describe the application of his findings to practice.

Target audience - Physicians

Expected results

Physician are expected to use appropriate professional, unbiased, peer-reviewed literature to answer self-identified clinical questions. This should be used to:

  • Reinforce clinical decisions
  • Learn new information related to their clinical practice
  • Translate knowledge into improved patient care

Needs assessment (knowledge gap)

The clinical questions will be considered the needs assessment as self-identified knowledge needs. There should be a valid knowledge need, such as:

  1. A rare condition
  2. Condition not managed recently
  3. A diagnostic dilemma
  4. New clinical information
  5. Controversial clinical issues

Databases to be utilized

  • UpToDate      Medline              Other
  • Journals         Medical Books
  • Micromedex    NMCD
  • OVID EBM      ACP Pier
  • Zynx               DxPlain

Disclosure

Databases have been chosen to ensure independence, lack of commercial bias and valid content. Aurora Health Care and the CME staff of this activity have no financial affiliations relevant to the content. There are no commercial grants for this activity.

What is Point of Care learning?

Internet Point of Care (PoC) CME describes structured, self-directed, online learning by physicians on topics relevant to their clinical practice. Learning for this activity is driven by a reflective process in which physicians must document their clinical question, the sources consulted and the application to practice. To award AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for this activity, accredited providers must assure that they:

  1. 1. Establish a process that oversees content integrity, with responsibilities that include, but are not limited to:
    1. the appropriate use and selection of professional, peer-reviewed literature,
    2. b. and keeping search algorithms unbiased.
  2. Provide clear instructions to the physician learner on how to access the portal/database, how their online activities will be tracked, and how the provider will award credit for their participation.
  3. Verify physician participation by tracking the topics and sources searched. Implement reasonable safeguards to assure appropriate use of this information.
  4. Provide access to some mechanism by which participants can give feedback on overall system effectiveness, and evaluate whether the activity met the participant's learning objectives, or resulted in a change in knowledge, competence or performance as measured by physician practice application or patient health status improvement.
  5. Establish a mechanism by which participating physicians may claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credit for this learning cycle, if they:
    1. Review original clinical question(s).
    2. Identify the relevant sources from among those consulted.
    3. Describe the application of their findings to practice.

Assigning credit for Internet PoC learning

AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for Internet PoC learning should be awarded as follows:

  • Physicians conducting structured online searches on clinical topics may claim a half (0.5) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for documented completion (either at the point of care or later) of the three step learning cycle defined above.

Get started

Log into the Point of Care learning form (you will be leaving the Aurora Web site and be taken to CME Tracker).