One Million Epocrates MobileCME Courses Completed - On-The-Go Learning Positively Impacts Physicians' Clinical Decisions

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Article Date: 30 Sep 2008 - 1:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   view / write opinions   rate article

Epocrates announced that one million MobileCME courses have been completed, marking a milestone for the company and establishing mobile learning as a standard in the continuing medical education (CME) industry. Since April 2005, physicians and other healthcare professionals have turned idle time into productive learning sessions with the Epocrates MobileCME® program, designed to meet physicians' desire for convenient learning methods. CME on a handheld device is an easy way for clinicians to keep current and earn their required educational credits at their convenience.

"There's no excuse for me not to learn something new in my downtime with the Epocrates MobileCME program on hand. The courses are focused and interesting, so commuting on a train or waiting for the barber suddenly becomes productive time, not time wasted," said Dr. Rich Lavi, pediatric allergist.

The free Epocrates program has received recognition as a powerful and effective educational tool due to its innovative and easy-to-use format. Handheld CME has even demonstrated an impact in changing participants' behavior, according to a third party study by Outcomes Inc. The study revealed that physicians who completed the MobileCME courses were more likely to apply recommended treatment for a specific disease than mobile users who did not participate in the MobileCME learning.

Today, many clinicians use electronic learning as a supplement or alternative to educational conferences or dinner sessions, as they can be more affordable and convenient than traditional CME methods. This popularity is expected to continue with mobile-based CME projected to grow by 40 percent between 2006 and 2011 (Ambient Insights 2007).

With the unique learning format of the Epocrates MobileCME learning system, clinicians can read succinct, topical medical education programs that help increase their knowledge and expertise while satisfying CME requirements. A busy clinician can read the concise article and complete the brief-post test directly on their Palm(R) or Windows Mobile(R) device, no Internet connectivity required. The MobileCME learning center provides CME activities, typically one-half credit courses, across a broad range of specialties, as well as a CME tracker that helps clinicians manage their completed courses and certificates earned.

"I find the Epocrates MobileCME program fun, convenient and informative. For these reasons I continue to use it even without the 'need' for credit. Instead of playing games on my mobile device when I have some down or waiting time, I can do a CME course and put the time to use with something that I find to be valuable as well as interesting," said Dr. John Thomson, oncologist.

About Epocrates MobileCME Learning System

Epocrates MobileCME courses consist of an easy-to-read educational article followed by a short series of multiple choice questions. After successfully completing the post-test, the physician can submit the activity through Epocrates for CME credit. New CME courses are automatically downloaded when users synchronize their devices and receive new clinical content from Epocrates. The mobile functionality of the program enables doctors to start CME courses on their own time and complete the course work at their own pace, with no need to be connected to any system.

Epocrates MobileCME content is developed by faculty at top U.S. medical schools and other educational institutions, including University of Pennsylvania, Massachusetts Medical Society (publishers of the New England Journal of Medicine and Journal Watch), the American College of Cardiology and the National Stroke Association. Courses are available in nearly 20 clinical areas, such as cardiology, gastroenterology, internal medicine, oncology and psychiatry.

About Epocrates, Inc.

Epocrates is a leading provider of clinical information and decision support tools to healthcare professionals. Epocrates currently has more than 500,000 active subscribers worldwide, including more than one in four U.S. physicians and more than one in three U.S. medical students. The company's subscription-based services enable healthcare professionals to make more informed medical decisions, reduce medical errors and practice more efficiently. For more information about Epocrates, please visit http://www.epocrates.com/company.

All trademarks are properties of their respective owners.

Epocrates, Inc.