Want to save millions? Offer continuing ed

March 18th, 2015

As I travel around the country attending healthcare conferences, one of my favorite things to do is to take copies of our publications to give away to conference attendees. I usually go down at breakfast and walk around with the freebies. There’s nothing I like more than to hand a copy to someone who recognizes it and replies, “I love this publication.”

A study recently published online in the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions shows one of the reasons why: You can save money. The study showed that CME-related learning to prevent bleeding complications might bring cost savings … in a big, big way. The report looked at a CME symposium that promoted prevention of bleeding-related complications and reoperations in cardiac and thoracic cases. The study showed 92% of participants reported that they were committed to change. The study looked at what would happen if three of every 10 participants prevented one bleeding-related complication or reoperation for bleeding in 1.5% to 2% of operations annually. Estimated costs averted for bleeding-related complications were $1.5 million for cardiac operations and $2.7 million for thoracic operations. For reoperation for bleeding, the savings estimates were $2.2 million. The study was authored by CMEology in West Hartford, CT, which develops educational activities with the goal of improved patient outcomes.

The study results weren’t news to us. AHC Media, publisher of this blog, has been offering CME, as well as CNE, for decades, and our readers constantly tell us how valuable the information is. For example, when our Emergency Medicine Reports publication asked our CME subscribers last year whether, after reading EMR, they were able to discuss conditions that should increase suspicions for traumatic injuries, 93% strongly agreed or agreed. We’ve also been recognized for excellent editorial content in the publishing world, with eight national awards in 2014 (including a first-place award for this blog, which also received national recognition in 2013.)

If one of our products such as our Healthcare Risk Management or ED Legal Letter helps you avoid just one bad patient outcome and lawsuit, you’ve saved dramatically more than you would pay for a lifetime subscription to the publication. For people who are looking for a one-time information source, we offer webinars. And now we’ve made earning online CME and CNE easier than ever, as most of our publications have converted to per-issue testing, with the rest scheduled to convert to per-issue testing in January. To keep up with what’s going on with our CME and CNE programs, follow us on Twitter @CMESource.

In this age of rising healthcare costs and decreased reimbursement, we understand that you’re eyeing every dollar invested to see what you’re getting from it. Dollar for dollar, you’d be hard pressed to find something that shows such dramatic potential to improve patient outcomes and to save you money as CME/CNE does. Don’t believe us? Ask the doctors and nurses who subscribe to our publications. They’re our best marketers.