Abstract:

Background:
Continuous medical education (CME) was established many years ago in USA and Western Europe based on research, which showed that some health professionals do not update their knowledge and expertise to optimize patients care. The main objective of CME credit system is to protect the patient and update the physician’s knowledge in the practice of the art of medicine.

Objective: To evaluate new electronic CME program and its impact on healthcare delivery.

Design: Prospective study.

Setting: King Hamad University Hospital (KHUH), Bahrain.

Method: An electronic program was designed and established to record CME activities, submitted as self-claims using the “KHUH online Program”. The program was launched on 6 January 2013.

The CME activities included in our program are the following: Lecture, conference, workshop, course, seminar, postgraduate degree course, publication/editorial work/presentation of original paper or poster, self study and distance learning. The activity is verified by the head of department and the director of education and proficiency center.

Physicians were advised to check their CME credits periodically and they could generate a report of their activity for relicensing purpose. Physicians were trained to use the program. Fifty physicians were given an evaluation form to assess the impact of CME on their medical practice.

Result:
The program was launched on 6 January 2013. The first report of its usage was issued on 20 February 2013, which showed that 77% of radiology, 66% of ophthalmology, 47% of pediatric and 37% of pathology physicians have used the program. Physicians in other specialties used it to less extent (30% ENT, 21% orthopedic, 20% general surgery, 15% internal medicine, 14% urology and 3% accident and emergency). Anesthesia, gynecology and obstetrics had zero usage.

The second report was issued on 20 March 2013, it showed that 87.5% of ophthalmology, 87.5% of radiology, 47% of pediatrics, 42.8% of orthopedic, 37.5% of pathology, 33.3% of urology, 30% of ENT, 22% of internal medicine, 21% of gynecology and obstetrics, 20% of general surgery, 8.8% of anesthesia and ICU, 3.8% of accident and emergency physicians have used the program. None of the department had zero usage, but those who had zero usage in the first report had low scores in the second.

The evaluation of the fifty physicians revealed that 27 (54%) thought that the program met the objective, 23 (46%) thought that they were prepared to use the knowledge in medical practice, 20 (40%) thought the program was suitable to their knowledge and background, 18 (36%) thought that the program was easy to use, 42 (84%) thought that the instructions were easy to use, 41 (82%) thought that the verification by the head of department and the director of education and proficiency center was clear and relevant, 45 (90%) thought that the interest in medical development was maintained by the program, 16 (32%) thought that the program would influence their practice.

Conclusion:
The electronic CME program usage has increased substantially within one month. The majority of physicians thought that the interest in medical development was maintained by the program and it would influence their practice of medicine.

Keywords:

CME, KHUH, continuous, medical, education, online, program, physicians, Bahrain, hospital, continuous medical education, electronic.