Taking the Pulse on eCME – What’s Next for Continued Medical Education

Over the past two years, we’ve witnessed the massive digital disruption in healthcare that was spurred by the pandemic. The most frequent example tends to be in the rapid adoption of technology like telemedicine, but this disruption has touched even the most seemingly small pieces of the healthcare ecosystem and will have long lasting consequences. In fact, new survey data from Clarivate* sheds light on how physicians are expected to learn the latest clinical developments and interact with eCME programs and in-person events in a post-pandemic future (all data points in this article are attributed to the Clarivate report “Taking the Pulse U.S. 2021: Optimize Physician Engagement).

The core reason eCME has emerged as a preferred method for continued medical education is because of its inherent flexibility, as described by the majority of physicians (63%). In the past, during in-person medical education events, physicians might have attended sessions that weren’t as relevant to their particular practice areas. A source of trusted clinical information has become even more essential to helping curb physician information overload as clinical guidelines continue to evolve.

Diving into the data, 70% of physicians reported that they are comfortable with virtual conferences since the pandemic made virtual events a mainstay. Given the normalization of virtual events spurred by the pandemic coupled with an emerging post-pandemic environment, we can expect hybrid-style learning events to best fit the needs of physicians, so long as they provide relevant information and find ways to engage attending physicians.