Needs Assessment Dixie Blankenship, Manager of the CME Program and Compliance Alicia Sutton, General Manager (Washington, D.C., office) Jeannine Murray, R.Ph., Managing Director (Indianapolis office) Deborah Wood, President and CEO Elizabeth Yarboro, Manager of CME Design and Development CME Enterprise By directly linking the needs focus to desired results and outcomes measurement, changes in physicians’ behaviors and improved patient outcomes can be assessed. As the regulatory environment continues to evolve, CME providers must take a more proactive approach to developing in-depth needs assessments. This fresh approach is not only based on the self assessment of healthcare professionals, but goes a step further by creating a bridge between identifying and filling those needs — as evidenced through improved patient outcomes. By directly linking the needs focus to desired results and outcomes measurement, changes in physicians’ behaviors and improved patient outcomes can be assessed. The emphasis on a need-outcome correlation is rapidly building in the industry and educational providers should evaluate the value and impact of credited programs on clinicians’ learning and patient care. When educational supporters seek to identify quality CME providers, they should look for teams that understand the requirements for the need-outcome correlation — and find experts who have the technology in place to analyze a direct connection between an activity’s learning objectives and a measurable outcome at a specific point in the future. Getting Started: Uncovering the Need CME providers should use a broad range of sources during the needs assessment process for a multilayered view of potential educational gaps. It’s not sufficient to take a narrow view of one expert, or one participant’s comments on an educational activity, or a literature search. Rather, all of this information in aggregate is important to developing an accurate, in-depth needs assessment. In addition, there are other resources providers should consider during the needs development process: • Clinical and academic expert feedback; • Current literature, including information on the patient environment and perceptions; • National diagnostic/treatment guidelines; • Postactivity evaluation and question summaries; and • The CME provider’s advisory board members. In addition, surveys of the identified healthcare professionals via online tools, focus groups, and phone interviews can be conducted to determine perceived needs, barriers to change, and learning preferences. Bridging the Gap Between Needs and Desired Results Needs assessments cannot be done in a vacuum. A robust needs assessment that is linked to identified, desired results enables a provider to design the educational activity and to develop measurable objectives — with the learner’s perspective in mind. That is critical to the cycle of medical education: from identified need, to increased knowledge, to measurements of improvement in patient care. Removing the Barriers A robust needs assessment program should also reveal barriers that might impede a physician’s ability to change his or her behavior. Physicians may be treating patients that represent demographic challenges, including multicultural issues such as folk medicine and language barriers. They may be operating in economic environments that present challenges in reimbursement, insurance coverage, managed-care compliance, and more. The provider should take all of these barriers into consideration when developing an educational program. And beyond the educational design, the activity should be delivered to participants in a compelling format such as interactive technologies, case-based education, online learning, etc. Participants should be given tools to help them with patient assessment, including the monitoring of therapy efficacy and safety, identification of therapeutic options, interpretation of practice guidelines, and communication with patients. The Ultimate Transformation CME providers that take all of these areas into consideration — multiple sources of input, highly profiled educational gaps, well-constructed desired results, and potential barriers to overcome — can provide quality CME and effectively evaluate the success of every activity. Only by delving deeply into the connection between needs assessments and desired outcomes can the true value of continuing medical education reach its pinnacle of success. Five Key Steps to a Dynamic Needs Assessment Plan • Use multiple sources • Identify educational gaps • Identify desired results • Identify potential barriers to change • Evaluate effectiveness through results CME Enterprise, Indianapolis, and its ACCME-accredited division, Enable Healthcare, produce CME programs and compelling enduring materials to enhance performance in clinical practice and improve healthcare outcomes. For more information, visit cmeenterprise.com. August 2005 VIEW on Medical Education Extreme Makeover: The New Look for Needs Assessments and Outcomes Measurement

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