Purpose
The mission of the Texas Heart Institute’s continuing medical education program is to provide comprehensive and innovative continuing education for the Institute’s professional staff and other cardiovascular specialists with educational activities that are designed to increase physicians’ medical knowledge and skills and, ultimately, improve patient care.
Content
The content of the educational activities is determined through assessment of needs as derived from scientific advancements in the field of cardiovascular medicine and surgery, clinical outcomes data to evaluate current practice standards defined by practice guidelines and expert consensus statements, and perception of the need by the Institute’s professional staff and intended audiences.
Audience
The primary audience for the Institute’s continuing medical education activities includes physicians who are involved in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases of the heart and vessels. This includes cardiovascular surgeons, adult and pediatric cardiologists, cardiovascular pathologists, and cardiovascular anesthesiologists. Secondary audiences include other physicians and health care professionals who provide care for patients with cardiovascular disease, including internists, other medical sub-specialists and primary care providers.
Although most participants reside within the United States, international participants also attend the Institute’s education activities. Enduring materials are disseminated (in English as well as in foreign languages when appropriate) to international physicians.
Type of Activities
Activities are provided through faculty-led programs as well as a library of printed and electronic enduring materials to support self-directed learning. Specific activities include regularly scheduled series, topic-specific symposia, live activities and telecasts, and self-study activities. On occasion, the Institute may jointly sponsor educational activities with associated organizations.
Expected Results
All continuing medical education activities are designed, implemented, and evaluated with four primary goals –
- Enhance and update physician knowledge and clinical skills;
- Increase physician awareness and understanding of emerging basic and clinical science;
- Provide opportunities for dialog and debate with peers and experts on topics related to cardiovascular medicine and surgery; and
- Support change in physician practice behavior as necessary to conform with established bodies of evidence and clinical practice guidelines which lead to improving patient outcomes.
Management and Compliance
The Institute’s education activities are designed to be balanced, ethical, independent, and objective. All CME activities meet the requirements of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), and they comply with guidelines for interaction with pharmaceutical and device manufacturers.1,2 Education activities also adhere to the American Medical Association’s guidelines regarding gifts to physicians.3
The Office of Continuing Medical Education is responsible for assuring regulatory compliance for all Texas Heart Institute sponsored CME activities.
1 U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Office of Inspector General
2 Pharmaceutical Research Manufacturers of America
3 Opinion E-8.071 Gifts to Physicians from Industry
Updated September 2008
