BALTIMORE, Md.—October 12, 2009—Med-IQ, an ACCME-accredited provider of continuing medical education (CME), has announced the continuation of its highly successful, complimentary, certified performance improvement (PI) CME initiative in diabetes care. Now in its second year, Performance Improvement Strategies: Diabetes Care (Diabetes PI CME) is an American Medical Association (AMA)-standardized, 3-stage, certified initiative, endorsed by The Endocrine Society.

"This PI CME initiative is designed to help primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners—who are on the front line of diabetes care—overcome clinical and practice management barriers to successfully manage the health of patients with diabetes," says Robert C. Bartel, Director of Education for The Endocrine Society.

Based on data collected from more than 3,400 patient charts submitted as part of the 2008 Diabetes PI CME initiative, in addition to outcomes surveys collected from 17% of the approximately 12,000 primary care physicians, physicians assistants, and nurse practitioners who participated in individual certified CME activities, Med-IQ collaborated with The Endocrine Society and diabetes experts from different provider groups to refine the performance improvement benchmarks for the 2009 initiative. The 2009 Diabetes PI CME initiative also includes region-specific content that addresses distinct barriers to the provision of optimal diabetes care that may affect participants based on their geographic locations and practice environments.

"Our ability to customize this curriculum to align with the specific needs of physicians and patients in different parts of the country creates a significant opportunity for us to positively impact diabetes care through continuing medical education," says William A. Mencia, MD, Vice President of Education & Medical Affairs for Med-IQ. "Further, as maintenance of certification becomes increasingly important to physicians, PI CME initiatives such as this may become a valuable tool to the healthcare practitioner in the future."

PI CME has been recognized as an important component of a physician’s continuing professional development. PI CME, the AMA performance improvement CME model, may answer multiple credentialing and reporting needs for physicians. To date, more than 900 primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners have registered to participate in the complimentary, certified 2009 Diabetes PI CME series.

Participation in Diabetes PI CME is simple. Primary care professionals who complete the below stages in succession will earn 20 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Each stage can be completed online or with the help of the Med-IQ concierge team, which is available to explain the initiative and provide tips to make the process more convenient.

Stage A
Self-assess by comparing current diabetes practice with national benchmarks, performance guidelines, and data submitted by peers.

Stage B
Develop and follow a plan for sustained improvement in diabetes patient care.

Stage C
Reevaluate processes for diabetes management by comparing past performance with current performance in implementing guidelines-based diabetes management.

Participants can earn more credits by participating in additional complimentary diabetes educational activities, including regional workshops and certified Webcasts. Participants can also access and share with patients educational resources including a Web site and prescription pads that contain helpful information on nonpharmacologic diabetes management strategies. Participants can claim CME credits on-demand at
www.pi-iq.com/diabetes.

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.

For more information, contact:

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

This activity is endorsed by The Endocrine Society.