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The AMA is Streamlining CME Administration. You Can, Too.

Streamline Administrastion

Could your CME reporting stand to be simplified? The American Medical Association (AMA) sure thinks so.

Last year, as part of its collaboration with the ACCME, the AMA decided to reduce the number of CME learning formats from 7 to just 3. The AMA also simplified the requirements for all three types in an effort to emphasize learning over rote regurgitation of information (think post-tests).

By reducing administrative requirements, the AMA hopes to make it easier for education providers to focus on delivering quality CME. But institutions like the AMA need not be the only ones promoting more straightforward CME administration. As a provider, you can use technology to make CME faster to deploy, easier to track, and less time-consuming to manage.

Automating your way to CME simplicity

Can you really make CME administration simpler? After all, there are a lot of moving parts to address.

Among those moving parts are the technical hiccups and administrative delays that abound in many CME organizations. Those problems include, but certainly aren’t limited to:

It’s likely – no, definite – that your staff would save hours of time each week if you could automate these tasks. And guess what? You can.

Just as the AMA is simplifying CME management at the highest levels, you can simplify it internally by taking advantage of CME-focused technologies. Your learners will also benefit because they’ll have fewer applications, waiting periods, or interface issues to contend with.

Basically, your software can do all the heavy lifting. Not you.

So, how do you get there?

The “how” is the biggest stumbling block, isn’t it? The first step is to assess what your technology needs to do vs. what it isn’t doing today. You can ask yourself these questions:

You may determine that your existing CME technology doesn’t do the things you need it to do or does the things you need it to do, but poorly. When that’s the case, the next step is to assess your options. Select a CME learning management system that:

The result of all this automation? Better CME and better health outcomes

The “how” is automation. The “why” is higher quality CME activities, more engaged learners, and better real-world clinician performance.

Today, leadership at the AMA and the ACCME are pursuing changes to simplify CME processes to benefit learners and, ultimately, the practice of medicine. You can be a part of those changes, too. By assessing the role technology plays (or fails to play) in how you manage CME, you can reshape your operation to better serve learners and improve outcomes among their patients.