Welcome to Pri-Med
Pri-Med is a global provider of innovative, cutting-edge clinical education that is designed to meet the individual learning needs of specialists and primary care practitioners (PCPs). Pri-Med CME/CE is developed through extensive collaboration with leading professional associations, academic institutions, hospitals, technology companies and over 1,500 prominent faculty. Today, 350,000 healthcare professionals globally trust Pri-Med as their source to stay better informed and educated.
Pri-Med’s education formats reflect how health care professionals consume information in a multi-channel world. Today, the average physician gets almost 50% of their education through live meetings, 25% online and another portion through enduring materials. Pri-Med’s education is presented at conventions and conferences in 15 countries, 40+ US cities, as well as online activities at pri-med.com, and print publications.
Pri-Med Institute, the accreditation division, is accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education), ACPE (Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education), AANP (American Academy of Nurse Practitioners), and ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center) to provide continuing medical education. In addition, Pri-Med Institute oversees adherence to all relevant policies including FDA, OIG, PhRMA and AMA.
At A Glance
Founded in 1994
Headquarters: Boston, Massachusetts
Employees: 300+
President & CEO: John M. Connolly
Contact Info
Pri-Med
101 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02199
877-PRI-MED8
To learn more about Pri-Med’s exhibiting and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.pri-med.com/exhibit or contact us at (877) PRI-MED8 or exhibit@pri-med.com
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Pri-Med, the leading provider of multi-channel continuing medical education (CME) in the U.S., also serves clinicians globally through its international branches and partners. Through Pri-Med education, clinicians worldwide are empowered to make informed decisions with greater confidence and stay on top of the latest clinical developments today and every day.
In-country resources including local staff and offices in each nation and partnerships with state and national healthcare partners allow Pri-Med to serve the distinct learning needs and preferences of clinicians globally.
Today, clinicians have access to over 150 live meetings in 70 US cities, over 150 programs in Latin America, Mexico and Spain; and over 50 meetings in the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
For more information send an email to media@pri-med.com.
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Reprinted with permission "Clinicians are earning CME in record numbers via the Internet. In fact, a quarter of all continuing education is now conducted online, and the Internet is playing a critical role in enabling access to information 24/7, which is particularly important in the health care profession."
Reprinted with permission "During the past 13 years, we have had the great opportunity to speak with hundreds of thousands of physicians about improving the quality of care for their patients through educa-tional training. You told us that it wasn’t always convenient to attend live conferences given your patient load of 80-plus patients each week. To meet that need, we’ve expanded our channels of delivery."
Do you take any nutritional supplements? Doctors say there's one that we should all be taking. It's Omega three - or fish oil. It's credited with helping ward off a long list of diseases.
Reprinted with permissionIn the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, many physicians experienced a void in continuing medical education (CME). But in early November of this year, Pri-Med, a leading provider of CME to family physicians and specialists, returned to Louisiana for a two day interactive program to educate physicians about cardiovascular topics and depression.
Reprinted with permission In the increasingly regulated health care environment, some have questioned the value of continuing medical education.
Reprinted with permission As John Connolly settles into his new post as president & CEO of M|C Communications, he may find certain experiences from his past especially useful. Compliance is one area.
Reprinted with permissionThe internet may be the preferred method of doctors for daily referencing of clinical information and business related purposes (say 72 percent), but when it comes to CME, half prefer their credits served up in live sessions according to a recent study.
Reprinted with permissionThe tragic shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in April underscores the need for education on diagnosing and treating mental health problems.
Reprinted with permissionThe purpose of this discussion is to describe the benefits of a uniform approach to measuring clinical outcomes and to report on the outcomes results for a sample of live Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions. Demonstrating measurable and meaningful outcomes in physician knowledge and practice is an extremely important opportunity for providers of CME. Since 2002, Pri-Med has been using a wide variety of uniform tools to measure outcomes, including session and speaker evaluation forms, question-and-answer cards, interactive audience response data, and control/participant long-term knowledge retention instruments
Reprinted with permissionExhibit halls offer plenty of opportunity to measure sales and marketing achievement.
Reprinted with permissionThe United States for years has been the leader in CME programs. But now ongoing education is gaining ground overseas - a trend that's likely to continue as Western Companies set up shop abroad.
Reprinted with permissionDoctors turn to multiple CME channels for more than just credits. Most physicians admit that it's a struggle to keep up with the latest breakthroughs in science and medicine. But they also don't mind doing it, because they believe it's their professional responsibility to be lifelong learners. That means there always will be a need for continuing medical education (CME), delivered through a variety of channels, to help healthcare providers deliver the best possible care for their patients.
Reprinted with permissionIn a nationwide study to assess the influence of continuing medical education on primary care, significant changes in clinical practice behavior were found to occur across the range of therapeutic areas covered at CME programs, according to The Pri-Med Institute.
Reprinted with permissionPhysicians have always made continuing medical education an important part of their career paths — far in excess of credits required for licensure. The weight of corporate scandals and increased public scrutiny has placed an additional burden on CME providers, as they walk the fine line between making events worth doctors’ time and adhering to ACCME and OIG guidelines.
Reprinted with permissionThe continuous challenge for providers of professional education is to understand the learning preferences of practicing clinicians and respond with valuable products and services that are carefully aligned with their needs and preferences.
Reprinted with permissionThe fear among medical education providers is that the increasing popularity of e-CME will replace the live event. With that in mind, the big challenge to med ed’s commercial supporters is to determine the best format for their efforts; should they support online or in-person programs?
Reprinted with permissionImproving doctors' confidence and competence in diagnosing and treating patients may be as important as gaining new prescriptions. Does continuing medical education work? There are direct links between CME programs and quality improvements in clinical practice.
Reprinted with permission"Quality education. Convenient location. Well organized." The words of one Pri-Med Midwest attendee speak to the thousands of regional doctors who make the short trip to Chicago each year. For them, Pri-Med is a one stop solution.
KNOWLEDGE IS OUR PRIORITY
Every year, the Pri-Med Physician Insights team speaks with over 60,000 healthcare providers to keep a finger on the pulse of the ever-changing healthcare landscape and build programs that effectively deliver the highest quality educational content practitioners need in their daily practice.
The Pri-Med Physician Insights team conducts regular research initiatives aimed at understanding physician attitudes and behaviors and how physicians are impacted by trends in healthcare – information that is of interest to the national press, healthcare organizations, industry executives, and physicians curious about where their peers stand on key primary care issues.
Below please find our most recent insights. We recommend that you bookmark this page and visit often. We will continually update it to deliver the voice of the physician.
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Pri-Med Commitment to CME - The Value and the Market Need
August 19, 2008
As many of you know, Pri-Med reaches out to physicians and faculty requesting feedback on various hot topics in the industry. Most recently, we opened up a discussion about the value of CME.
Within that discussion, Pri-Med made it clear that we have and will continue to make major commitments and investments in the area of industry supported CME. We believe a healthy dialog, careful management, and collaboration between all constituents can provide a fair, balanced, and stronger CME solution to positively impact patient care.
Recently, we received feedback from a number of health care professionals regarding industry support for CME and the topic of conflict of interest. Pri-Med’s views were shared in the form of an open letter to the health care community, sparked by Pfizer’s grand funding decision, posted on www.pri-med.com, and can now is located here.
We always welcome your thoughts and comments. Please feel free to join the dialog by emailing us at telltheceo@pri-med.com. Here are most of the responses we already received:
- I have sent emails previously to you (Marissa) and the "Coalition" in support of Pri-Med's position on industry conflict of interest. As both a speaker for, and attendee of numerous Pri-Med conferences, I can personally attest to efforts made to minimize potential bias, and would be happy to have this letter shared or my name added to a petition in order to keep these programs funded. Physician
- I cannot stress enough how essential Pri-med CME courses, online and live, have been to me. It helps me to stay current with the latest advancements and developments in diagnosis, treatment, and management to improve patient care. I need more CME courses, live and online, in the future. Thank you. Nurse Practitioner
- It is very regrettable Pfizer's decision and statement against CME's funding. We deeply appreciate all knowledge of the newest advances and understandings of the science of diseases and managements that you provide us and we apply to the benefit of our patients. These events for Doctors are very much needed to keep us better informed and updated. Thank you very much for all your efforts. Physician
- It is a nice letter but it misses the following points: (1) Pfizer has no obligation to be fair; (2) Pfizer's message has both an internal and external target audience with far more at stake internally than externally; (3) limiting who receives grants is possibly a political and logistical "survivor mode" tactic; and (4) collaboration is key for us all. Physician, Faculty
- Thanks for sending me the Pri-Med statement critiquing Pfizer's unbelievable position on MECCs. CME Consulting Firm
- The position statement is very well done and the physician poll adds evidence to support your position. Pharmaceutical Company
- I oppose their lack of support for on going medical education. Physician
- Congratulations on the excellent letter posted on your site. It is an eloquent statement of the issues and a most reasoned and intelligent response. I only hope that Pfizer and the ACCME are able to understand these issues and formulate their responses based on the reality of the issues and not the “perceptions” of those who are critical of the medical education vertical. CME Provider
- I certainly agree with the tone and content of the well-though comments of Mr. Connolly and Marissa on the Primed website. Obviously the issue of commercial support of CME is quite complicated and nuanced.
- In general, I certainly do agree that the jeopardize support of CME by pharmaceutical companies and others with vested interest in medical decision-making raises potential for conflict of interest or perhaps equally as importantly the perception of conflict of interest.
- Certainly, not every provider is as dogged in their management of these potential conflicts of interest as Primed, and the proliferation of MECC’s, many of whose relationships to commercial supporters is not always as transparent as it could be, has cast some doubts on the integrity of the process on the part of some learners. However, these facts in no way detract from the tremendous value of CME in disseminating much needed clinical updates for learners, particularly community-based, primary care practitioners, who may not be in a position to fund their CME/CE efforts on their own. Physician – University Professor
- Thanks for writing the letter. Appreciate the support and Pri-Med’s willingness to be up front with their position. CME Provider
- Position well expressed. Found the results of your survey very interesting but also wondered whether your target group was representative of all doc's. Physician – University Professor
- Thank you so much for your letter. Every item was exactly right. CME Provider
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Physicians updating their approach to diabetic patient care after CME sessions
July 28, 2008
Two-thirds of physicians who participated in Pri-Med’s Diabetes in Depth CME programs say they recently implemented management strategies that improve patient health outcomes as a result of the education, according to a post-session survey.
The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Pri-Med collaborated to offer Diabetes in Depth, a one-day CME program focused on clinically relevant practice and patient care issues in diabetes diagnosis. The intensive program is comprised of three workshops and five sessions and will be held in a total of 10 cites nationwide this year. More than 1,370 physicians attended meetings this Spring in Baltimore, Boston, Jacksonville, and Dallas. We expect thousands more to be educated in 2008 through ADA/Pri-Med live programs and online activities. Learn more about Pri-Med/ADA CME.
Physicians utilizing information to make proactive clinical changes:
Pri-Med surveyed physicians who attended the first four programs before they participated in the activity and then again after it, to determine how the education impacted their practice and patient care approach. Here are the preliminary outcomes findings.
The ADA/Pri-Med diabetes education is boosting or reinforcing practitioners’ adherence to a number of clinical standards.
- 86% of physicians, after education, said they annually screen urine albumin in all T2DM patients; an increase of 9% from the 79% pre-education baseline.
- 47% of physicians, after education, said they prescribe a statin medication to diabetic patients who have obesity; an increase of 18% from the 40% pre-education baseline.
- 46% of physicians, after education, said they prescribe a statin medication to diabetic patients who smoke; an increase of 35% from the 34% pre-education baseline.
Post-educational data indicate more clinicians are ordering key laboratory assessments for diabetic patients.
- 100% of physicians, after education, said they measure diabetic patients’ blood pressure at every visit, an increase of 6% from the 94% pre-education baseline.
- 93% of physicians, after education, said they refer diabetic patients for dilated eye examinations annually; an increase of 9% from the 85% pre-education baseline.
- 68% of physicians, after education, said they perform an FPG test at every visit and 44% of physicians, after education, said they perform an A1C test at every visit; an increase of 19% and 20% respectively.
Stay tuned for more results. Additional impact measures on patient health outcomes are in the field including a HIPPA compliant analysis of patient records assessed through an electronic medical record (EMR) database, as well as patient surveys
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Poll: 86% of Clinicians Oppose Pfizer’s Action to End Direct Support to Medical Education and Communication Companies
July 10, 2008
The vast majority of clinicians don’t feel changes are needed to how CME is funded by industry, according a poll conducted this week by Pri-Med. Pri-Med conducted a poll among its members to find out what clinicians think about a recent action by Pfizer’s medical education grants department to no longer award grants for CME initiatives developed by medical education and communication companies (MECCs). One hundred and ninety two clinicians voluntarily responded to the three part poll within 24 hours. When asked, “Do you favor or oppose the decision”, 86% of clinicians said they oppose Pfizer’s decision to not directly fund CME developed by providers like Pri-Med. Another 73% do not agree that conflicts of interest in CME would be addressed as a result of the change.
In an open ended response section of the poll, clinicians provided a variety of personal reasons as to why they either opposed or agreed with Pfizer’s action. The majority of those who provided comments opposed Pfizer’s action and felt strongly about the value of CME to their practice and the need for support to continue. Some felt that Pfizer made a business decision in an effort to reduce expenses to their organization. Below is a sample of the 31 comments provided in opposition:
- “We need all the help we can get for any hope of staying current in the CME world”
- “I am disappointed. I am not aware of other organizations that have the resources, track record, and expertise in providing exceptional education services/opportunities”
- “Essential CME will be more costly to the physicians,”
- “We are educated professionals and the sponsorship of the drug company will not cause the inappropriate use of their drug. We do what is best for the patient.”
- “I believe they are only trying to cut costs, although this is not a wise method,”
While only a small minority of respondents provided comments in favor of the change, it’s important to give all sides a voice. Those four who were in agreement and commented expressed overall concern with commercial organizations funding CME. At the same time, most said they are not in a position to pay for it on their own.
- “This is an ongoing issue…on the other hand who is going to pay for CME…especially for primary care doctors who remain on the low end of the pay scale.”
- “This measure goes part of the way to eliminating bias – but the definite step would be to eliminate drug company sponsorship altogether. Speaking as a physician who cannot afford CME unless it is drug sponsored, this simply will not happen.”
While there have been movements to change how CME is funded by industry it is clear from this and other research that the overwhelming majority of physicians appreciate industry support of CME. However, a small percentage of physicians are uneasy about its role in CME. Pri-Med believes their concerns can be addressed through greater transparency in how CME is planned and conducted and a continued commitment to providing non bias superior content quality. Review Pri-Med Institute’s Ethical Guidelines for Collaboration with Educational Partners.
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Pri-Med Perspective – NYT, “Doctors Miss Cultural Needs Study Says”
June 25, 2008
We are sure many of you read the June 10, New York Times article, “Doctors Miss Cultural Needs Study Says.” The article was prompted by the study, which was recently published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, “Physician Performance and Racial Disparities in Diabetes Mellitus Care.”
In that study, electronic medical records of 6,814 patients with diabetes were examined. The study concluded, “Racial differences in outcomes were not related to black patients differentially receiving care from physicians who provide a lower quality of care, but rather that black patients experienced less ideal or even adequate outcomes than white patients within the same physician panel.”
According to the authors, “Our data suggest that the problem of racial disparities is not characterized by only a few physicians providing markedly unequal care that such differences in care are spread across the entire system, requiring the implementation of systemwide solutions.”
The authors of the article recommend that there needs to be more learning about minority communities so that doctors, other members of the health care system, and patients are better educated about diabetes.
Pri-Med research demonstrates that education focusing on handling special populations is effective. Pri-Med follow-up research from our nationwide education sessions in 2007 with 6,006 clinician participants, clinician competence regarding assessment of cardiovascular risk among special populations increased to 48 percent.
Also, 92 percent of clinicians feel it’s important to learn how to treat diverse populations, specifically the diagnosis and treatment of diseases that differ in prevalence and severity among various ethnic groups/patient populations.
Pri-Med is proud to offer education on special populations. Several of our Diabetes in Depth Live CME programs offer a Workshop on the Assessment of Special Populations and Risks. To see if there is a program in your area, visit the Live CME section of Pri-Med.com.
