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[Does continuing medical education improve the way physicians conduct their practice?]
1Hôpital Cochin, Service de santé publique et IEPS, UFR Broussais-Hôtel Dieu, Paris. pierre.durieux@cch.ap-hop-paris.fr
Presse Medicale (Paris, France : 1983)
|April 6, 1999
Summary
Continuing education programs for physicians in France show limited effectiveness in changing practice. Opinion leader interventions and office visits have some impact, but traditional methods are least effective for clinical practice evolution.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Health Services Research
- Clinical Practice Improvement
Context:
- Physicians in France must complete continuing education as mandated by law.
- This study evaluates the effectiveness of various educational strategies on physician practice.
Purpose:
- To analyze the efficacy of different continuing medical education methodologies on physician practice.
- To identify the most effective strategies for improving clinical practice.
Summary:
- Literature review assessed educational methods including guideline diffusion, conferences, opinion leaders, and office visits.
- Simple information diffusion and formal continuing education programs showed minimal impact on physician practice.
- Opinion leader interventions had an impact, though rarely clinically significant; office visits were effective but costly.
Impact:
- Conventional continuing education strategies are least effective for promoting clinical practice evolution.
- More targeted interventions, like opinion leader engagement and direct office visits, show greater, albeit sometimes limited or costly, effects.
- Findings suggest a need for re-evaluating current continuing medical education approaches for greater clinical impact.