BALTIMORE, MD—April 13, 2010— Nearly 13% of adults in the United States (US) have diabetes—of whom, 40% have not yet been diagnosed—and an additional 30% have pre-diabetes, according to a 2009 study by epidemiologists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The quality of diabetes care in the US is suboptimal due to several barriers, including the lack of adequate professional training for clinicians, insufficient translation and adherence of current clinical guidelines into clinical practice, and poor adherence to recommended therapies by patients.

Improving Physician Performance

More than 4,600 primary care clinicians nationwide registered for the certified, complimentary performance improvement (PI) CME initiative, Performance Improvement Strategies: Diabetes Care (Diabetes PI) to meet this educational need based on real clinical and process gaps and to earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. More than 864 of these clinicians participated, submitting data from more than 4,500 patient charts, and more than 60 clinicians completed the comprehensive PI platform. More than 1,240 patient chart reviews were analyzed to measure performance outcomes.

Endorsed by The Endocrine Society, Diabetes PI launched in July 2008 as one of the first certified, large-scale, complimentary PI CME initiatives covering a broad range of diabetes topics for primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. In its unique educational design, healthcare professionals selected their educational experience based on their personal needs, preferences, and self-identified diabetes knowledge and practice gaps.

"Med-IQ’s PI CME initiative has not only increased awareness of my patient care performance, but has also challenged me to conceive and develop strategies that provide more efficient and complete care delivery," said Luigi F. Meneghini, MD, MBA , Director of the Eleanor and Joseph Kosow Diabetes Treatment Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in Miami, FL.

What is PI CME?

Today's physicians are expected to evaluate clinical practice methods according to board-specific competencies and assess quality of care compared with peers and national standards. PI CME, the AMA performance improvement CME model, has been recognized as an important component of a physician’s continuing professional development and may answer multiple credentialing and reporting needs for physicians. Physicians can use their data from this PI CME series to complete ABIM's Self-Directed PIM and earn credit for ABIM Maintenance of Certification.
Clinicians are required to complete three PI CME stages in succession to earn 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™:

• Stage A – Assess: Self-assess by comparing their current practice with national benchmarks, performance guidelines, and data submitted by peers
• Stage B – Apply: Develop and follow their own path for sustained improvement in patient care
• Stage C – Evaluate: Reevaluate their processes by comparing past practice with current performance in implementing guideline-based management

"I was able to implement my [improvement] plan. I especially appreciated the importance of doing a foot exam on each visit. In a patient with diabetes, a small wound that is missed can lead to a disastrous outcome," said Internal Medicine physician, Sally Ann McIntosh, MD, in Bakersfield, CA.

Diabetes PI participants submitted 20 chart reviews at each of two points—20 in Stage A and 20 in Stage C. Each chart review included questions assessing the diabetes care that the patient received and the healthcare professional charted. These assessment questions focused on five benchmark areas related to diabetes care: exercise, foot care, blood pressure, HbA1C, and total cholesterol. HIPPA guidelines were upheld, as patients were not identified in chart reviews.

Clinicians could earn up to 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ by participating in the PI activity, and/or earn traditional certified CME/CE through a variety of educational platforms—live, Web, and print.

For more details, view the Diabetes PI Outcomes Fact Sheet.

About Med-IQ

Med-IQ, America's most respected continuing medical education (CME) company, is an accredited provider of CME that educates and inspires healthcare professionals through programs that deliver sophisticated outcomes-based educational designs with measurable results in professional competence and performance. Med-IQ is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the California Board of Registered Nursing (CBRN), and the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing medical education to physicians, nurses, and pharmacists, respectively. We are a leader in the development of performance improvement (PI) and quality improvement (QI) CME initiatives. To learn more about us, visit www.Med-IQ.com.

Endorsed by

For more information, contact:

Catherine B. Mullaney, MHA
Vice President, Audience Development
and Educational Outcomes
Med-IQ
443 543 5154
info@med-iq.com