eCME: Leveraging Online Continuing Medical Education as a Channel of Influence

Summary

Introduction

The changing nature of CME has caused the pharmaceutical industry to reassess its investment in CME. While more restrictive guidelines and increased oversight may persuade many companies to decrease their investments in CME, Datamonitor recommends that stakeholders seize this opportunity to invest in educational programs that produce positive results in physician behavior and patient health.

Highlights

In part due to the demand for shorter, more targeted CME, the average amount of hours per CME activity has decreased since 1998 with two exceptions: regularly scheduled conferences and live Internet events.The Standards for Commercial Support are not just important for what they mean for the CME market in the US, but also for what impact they will ultimately have in other major pharmaceutical markets. These standards will be cited as the foundation of similar guidelines established by accrediting associations in the European Union and beyond.The challenge in the future will be to provide activities that are comprehensive, but not overly lengthy. This can be addressed through adaptive programs, which are unique to eCME and can respond in real-time to users' activities online.

Scope

• Insight into the factors that are driving rapid changes within the global CME market
• Discussion of comparative factors that distinguish physicians' behaviors based on whether they practice in the US, Western Europe or Japan
• Identification of physicians' preferences as regards recruitment to and participation in CMEh3>
• Analysis of key future directions specific to the CME markets in the US, Western Europe and Japan

Reasons to Purchase

• Identify key market trends and opportunities based on physicians' needs and behaviors in seven key markets
• See how physicians practicing in different regions across the globe differ in their behaviors and attitudes towards CMEh3>
• Assess how significant a role eCME will play in future continuing medical education markets in the US, Western Europe and Japan

Contents

• Introduction
• Scope of this report
• Research and analysis highlights
• Key reasons to read this report