A pilot study of CME on risk management in long-term care

This pilot study's purpose was to evaluate behavioral changes among medical directors and physicians following CME on risk management in long-term care (LTC) facilities. The setting was a satellite conference at the AGS Meeting Symposium 2000. CME participants included 51 medical directors, attending physicians, and nurses. Evaluations were based on 20 LTC medical directors and physicians. Descriptive statistics were used for outcome measurements. Respondents (n = 15, 75%) "committed" to an average of 3 changes. Of the 45 commitments, no progress was reported on 8 (17.7%); another 8 commitments were reported as fully completed. The mean implementation rate was 60%. LTC physicians departed the course with intentions to alter their behaviors, but important obstacles such as "lack of time" and "staff not available or interested" interfered with implementation.