Got CER? Educating Pharmacists for Practice in the Future: New Tools for New Challenges

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Comparative Effectiveness Research
• Evidence-Based Practice

Background:

• Real-world treatment effectiveness is complex to assess.
• Comparative effectiveness research (CER) provides valuable data for healthcare decision-making.
• Challenges exist in evaluating the quality of CER studies and methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• Describe an online tool developed by the CER Collaborative.
• Evaluate the impact of a training program on CER study evaluation skills.
• Enhance decision-makers' ability to incorporate CER evidence.

Main Methods:

• Developed an online tool and training program for CER study assessment.
• Trained 71 healthcare professionals across 3 cohorts.
• Assessed learners' self-reported abilities via an online questionnaire post-training.

Main Results:

• Learners reported high confidence (mean=4.2) in assessing CER evidence post-training.
• Significant improvement in evaluating CER studies and identifying flaws (27.43%-59.86% increase).
• 63% of learners anticipated increased use of CER evidence in decision-making.

Conclusions:

• The CER Collaborative offers innovative solutions to address training needs in CER.
• The tool and training program enhance practitioners' skills in using CER evidence.
• Improved understanding and application of CER studies support better healthcare decisions.