The overwhelming majority of both specialists and PCPs report that they attend live meetings primarily to learn about current treatment options and new therapies. In contrast, online and print-based CME are evolving into media that physicians use to probe deeper into topics and to reinforce learning introduced at conferences. For instance, they tend to look to print for updates on new practice guidelines, whereas they use online CME to find more in-depth clinical information about specific disease states.

Broad vs. Narrow

According to the Pri-Med research, specialists and PCPs feel that a CME meeting should have both a broad-based curriculum covering a wide range of clinical topics and a more narrowly focused curriculum concentrating on one area of interest. Physicians also have distinct educational objectives in mind for each curriculum type. PCPs tend to gravitate toward programs with broad curriculums, as they mirror their wide patient population. But it is interesting to note that 60 percent of specialists feel that a broad overview helps them stay up to date on the developments in their individual specialities while enabling them to take a whole-body approach to treatment.

All signs seem to indicate that CME will continue to play a vital role in getting the most practical and timely medical advances into the minds of physicians. But, if CME providers want it to stay this way, they must not only strive to motivate doctors to attend conferences, read print pieces, and participate in e-CME activities, but also work to ensure that those participants are satisfied with the time they spend doing so. By using research to understand distinct physician needs, CME providers can offer a diverse spectrum of educational programs that are more meaningful to more physicians—and ultimately, to their patients.

Anne Goodrich is the director of Physician Insights. She can be reached at agoodrich@mc-comm.com