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This CME Certificate Template Solves So Many Problems

Certificates are the source of many a headache among CME administrators. And that’s especially true when you’re juggling multiple credit options and accredited providers.

For example, how do you create custom certificates for different accreditation types? Is there software for that? And what about those occasions when different learners require different credit types from the same provider? Creating those certificates isn’t always straightforward. It takes time.

Then there’s the issue of getting those certificates to learners. Do you mail them out the old fashioned way? After all, many learners do request paper copies. Or should you create a digital version – a PDF, say – that learners access online following a manual request?

No matter what you deal with in the realm of CME certificates, it’s probably tedious.

Good news! There’s a better way to manage CME certificates.

Last year, we caught up with AHC Media CEO, David Fournier. AHC Media produces around 1,400 CME activity hours each year. Needless to say, learners claiming credit for those activities require different accreditation types with different kinds of certificates. There’s a lot going on, certificate-wise, and the company used to find it difficult to produce and manage the certificates that learners needed.

But that’s not the case anymore.

Nowadays, AHC Media doesn’t spend an inordinate amount of time managing CME certificates. Here’s what they did to turn things around:

  1. When they recognized certificate management was a source of administrative frustration, they prioritized fixing it. AHC Media was using a homegrown system to manage CME. One reason that system wasn’t serving the organization’s needs was its inability to manage certification effectively. When AHC Media went about selecting an alternative application, they put certification management features high on the “must have” list.
  2. They decided to integrate certificate management into a larger learning management framework. Rather than build a new tool for certification management, AHC Media decided it made more sense to include certificates as part of their overall CME management experience. That way, they could connect certificate generation to learner actions, like activity completion or requests for documentation.
  3. They turned to 100% tech-based tools for certificates. Many CME providers still field individual requests for certificates and process learner documents manually. AHC Media knew they couldn’t go that route – certification management would need to be a virtual process, not a new source of printing and mailing headaches. They ultimately selected the Rievent Platform, in large part because of its integrated certification management tools.
  4. Instead of generating and sending certificates themselves, they transferred that responsibility to learners. Self-service tools would make it easy for learners to get certificates when they needed them. Learners wouldn’t have to submit requests or wait for AHC Media administrators to generate the certificates internally.
  5. They enabled automatic, on-demand certificate generation based on learner participation. Learners needed the ability to view or print certificates right away. To make that happen, AHC Media insisted on a learning management system (LMS) that automatically produced a certificate upon learners’ completion of a CME activity. Certificates would be available right away – not after days or weeks.

The result? AHC Media now spends minimal time on certificate management. From an administrator perspective, certificates are practically on autopilot. And learners can get the certificates they need (printable, of course) whenever they need them – even if they completed a CME activity only moments before.

It’s bigger than just a CME certificate template.

AHC Media’s transition to an LMS with CME certificate tools did much more than fix its tedious certification management process. It also eliminated time-consuming administrative tasks.

There are two primary reasons why:

  1. Comprehensive CME certification tools: Rievent’s Certification Management Tool lets administrators create and modify credit options, accredited providers, and CME certificates. In addition to creating various certificates via CME certificate templates, the tools allow you to associate credit options with different providers, add custom accreditation statements to different certificate types, and specify the type and number of credits earned.
  2. Integration with other CME administrator tools: It’s not enough to generate different certificates and manage credit options in one place – those tools need to integrate with your learners’ online CME experience. That’s where the true value of certification tools comes into play because the end goal is getting the right certificates to the right learners. Integration between administrator-side tools, including reporting for ACCME PARS, and learner-side tools gets you there.

Ultimately, sorting out an unwieldy certification management process is about more than just easy-to-use online templates. Templates are useful – and they should be a part of any CME certification management technology – but they alone can’t get your learners the certificates they need, when they need them.

What providers really need is integration between CME learner and administrator technologies. That, in the end, is what helps you solve the tough problems associated with certificate processing.

It can also make you a more effective, valuable source of CME for your learners.