Electronic management of practice assessment data

The assessment of a practising physician's performance may be conducted for various reasons, including licensure. In response to a request from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM), the Division of Continuing Professional Development in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, has established a practice-based assessment programme - the Manitoba Practice Assessment Program (MPAP) - as the College needed a method to evaluate the competence and performance of physicians on the conditional register.

Using a multifaceted approach and CanMEDS as a guiding framework, a variety of practice-based assessment surveys and tools were developed and piloted. Because of the challenge of collating data, the MPAP team needed a computerised solution to manage the data and assessment process.

Over a 2-year period, a customised web-based forms and information management system was designed, developed, tested and implemented. The secure and robust system allows the MPAP team to create assessment surveys and tools in which each item is mapped to Canadian Medical Education Directives for Specialists (CanMEDS) roles and competencies. Reports can be auto-generated, summarising a physician's performance on specific competencies and roles. Overall, the system allows the MPAP team to effectively manage all aspects of the assessment programme.

Throughout all stages of design to implementation, a variety of lessons were learned that can be shared with those considering building their own customised web-based system. The key to success is active involvement in all stages of the process!