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Client Solutions
| Case Study #1 |
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Performance Improvement |
| Client: |
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Large Hospital |
| Issue: |
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During a recent quality improvement analysis, a large hospital became aware of deficiencies in its overall treatment of Type 2 Diabetes patients, and more specifically, their physicians' use of the dilated eye exam. The hospital needed their physicians to treat patients according to the National Diabetes Quality Improvement Alliance guidelines for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes. However, the hospital was unsure of how to measure their physicians' current clinical performance, pinpoint areas of concern, and introduce interventions to resolve these concerns. Additionally, they needed to verify and quantify that the selected interventions resolved the deficiencies and improved their clinical performance based on the recognized guidelines.
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| Solution: |
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Educational Measures provided a web-based application (PI-CME Trak) that utilized a three-stage model. In Stage A, physicians entered a sampling of anonymous Type 2 Diabetes patient chart data and PI-CME Trak allowed them to analyze their current treatment methods. Using this information, the physicians were able to identify particular deficiencies in their clinical performance with respect to the guidelines. The physicians then implemented a personalized intervention (Stage B) based on those same guidelines. Six months later, each physician entered another set of anonymous patient charts (Stage C) and re-evaluated their clinical performance based on their personal intervention. Since all of the information was collected via a web-based application, the hospital was able to analyze the success of the performance improvement initiative as a whole, and determine which interventions were most effective. Individual physicians could also view their own progress as well as the progress of their colleagues, creating a collaborative environment. Physicians could also earn Continuing Medical Education credits for participating in this initiative, which could be monitored via PI-CME Trak.
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| Outcome: |
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The web-based solution allowed the hospital to collect and view the data in a centralized system. By using this information, the hospital was able to look at the effectiveness of all the different educational interventions on an individual and cohort level. It became abundantly clear that a certain type of educational intervention was far more effective than others for a majority of the physicians, while physicians within a certain demographic group saw clinical performance improve utilizing a different intervention. In conclusion, the hospital introduced a two pronged approach integrating these two educational interventions and each physician that participated received 20 CME credits. |
| Case Study #2 |
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Grants Management System |
| Client: |
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Pharmaceutical Company |
| Issue: |
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A medium-sized pharmaceutical company recently implemented a grants management system to facilitate its grant application process. The system addresses basic grant functions but internal stakeholders are demanding greater accountability of funds awarded and would like to closely measure and monitor the return on education. In response, the pharmaceutical company has hired an outside vendor to audit the effectiveness of supported activities, and has also outsourced the accounting portion due to a lack of internal resources.
Even with the additional external resources, the company still has trouble compiling correct and comprehensive activity reconciliation data. Since their internal system and the auditor's systems were built independently, the pharmaceutical company is also trying to manage the flow of information between the two systems. The result is a lack of quantitative and qualitative reports to provide to management and stakeholders.
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| Solution: |
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Educational Measures developed a modular-based system that allowed the pharmaceutical company to manage the entire "lifecycle" of a grant by allowing them to seamlessly gather, transfer and analyze all types of grant data. Educational Measures helped identify processes that could be streamlined while collecting and storing appropriate grant information from the beginning of the grant process to the end. The resulting process allowed the pharmaceutical company to select appropriate vendors, organize grant applications, manage the status of each grant, and evaluate the effectiveness of supported activities.
Educational Measures also included a budget module that calculates forecasted expenditures versus actual costs and automatically sends invoices if funds are to be returned by a grant recipient. This comprehensive system helped control the workflow involved with the management of each grant. Each user had a taskbar that showed which tasks were completed, in process or overdue. Less time was spent searching for information since there was now only one system.
The system also allowed the pharmaceutical company to create a variety of reports regarding the effectiveness of programs on an individual, comparative and cumulative level. Reports also showed vendor performance, industry benchmark data analysis, comparison of reconciliation data, etc. All of these reports could be exported and presented to stakeholders, providing the accountability they had requested. With the integration of all modules, the company could conduct their own analysis quickly and efficiently.
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| Outcome: |
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The client now has a comprehensive grant management system that:
- Assesses and Qualifies Vendors
- Manages the Grants Application Process
- Reconciles Grant Application Budgets
- Tracks Progression and Status of Grants
- Evaluates Vendors and Activities
- Measures Impact of Education through Outcomes
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| Case Study #3 |
| Title: |
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CME123 - Activity Development and Management System |
| Client: |
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Community Hospital |
| Issue: |
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A community hospital was tasked with increasing the number of CME accredited activities available to its staff. With only one full-time employee, the CME department was small and had limited resources. The demand of planning additional activities made it difficult for the department to ensure the necessary protocol was in place to deliver the highest quality education in a compliant manner. Although the department is confident it can provide quality educational content, it has concerns that the activities and the overall CME program might not be in compliance with ACCME guidelines.
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| Solution: |
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Educational Measures worked closely with CME thought leaders to create a web-based application called CME123 which was designed to help educators develop and document CME activities. CME123 provided the department with an easy-to-use, online CME planning system with full ACCME Updated Accreditation Criteria documentation support and reporting. By following a simple step-by-step process and using links to relevant ACCME criteria and examples, the department was able to develop the additional CME activities in a compliant fashion. They could also upload documentation at all stages of the planning process and share selected information with a wider community of educators to facilitate best practices.
One of the most convenient features of CME123 was the ability to duplicate activity templates. This significantly reduced the time spent documenting and planning of Regularly Scheduled Series' (RSS) since the details (i.e. Target Audience, Learning Objectives, etc.) for each separate activity did not have to be manually entered each time.
The application also produced a number of reports ranging from Conflict of Interest Assessments to Attendee Information Statements. The system was also able to export activities in a format compatible for upload to the PARS (ACCME) system. By following this process, the department can now spend their time focusing on additional tasks and planning quality activities while CME123 assists with the planning of accredited activities.
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| Outcome: |
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The client now has an online system that assists with developing their activities, managing their self-study and improving their overall CME program while providing tools to assist with ACCME compliance guidelines. The easy-to-follow process allowed the department to provide quality accredited programs with limited resources. |
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Scannable Forms and Electronic Data Capture (EDC)
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| Client: |
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Medical Association
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| Issue: |
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A large medical association has an annual meeting averaging over one thousand attendees. The meeting is three days long and has multiple breakout sessions for each day that require attendees to fill out an evaluation. There are also plenary sessions in which the client would like to implement pre- and post-testing so an outcomes analysis can be done. They would like the ability to combine the data from each day so they can analyze the meeting as a whole. The client does not have the resources to tally the evaluations in a timely manner and no means to collect pre- and post-data effectively.
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| Solution: |
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Educational Measures worked in collaboration with the client to create scannable evaluations for all breakout sessions which included open-ended questions. Educational Measures also provided scannable pre- and post-test forms using a unique identifier that would allow the data to be combined over the three day period. After the program, Educational Measures scanned all the evaluations and pre- and post-tests and then transcribed all the open-ended questions. The data was then uploaded into our EducationalTrak™ database that the client used for analysis. This allowed the client to compare data and find results using our built-in statistical engine. Educational Measures also provided the six week follow-up surveys through our Electronic Data Capture system (EDC).
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| Outcome: |
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The client now has an interactive database that:
- Tracks pre- and post-data
- Combines data from different sessions
- Find statistical results like P-Values, mean and median
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| Case Study #5 |
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Consolidating Services, Reducing Costs, Maximizing Consistency and Quality |
| Client: |
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Medium-sized Medical Education Communication Company |
| Issue: |
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A medium-sized MECC was tasked with planning and implementing 25 dinner meetings across the country. They decided they wanted to gauge the educational effectiveness for all 25 meetings, but had not planned for it in the original grant request process and therefore had little money in the budget.
The MECC had one vendor that provided scannable form services, one that provided on-line surveys and another that provided on-site Audience Response System (ARS) and Audio-Visual (AV). They all used different reporting systems and none of them could communicate with each other, so the MECC was tasked with compiling all of the data. This proved to be an arduous task that would waste valuable time and would delay their measurement process.
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| Solution: |
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The MECC contacted Educational Measures and spoke with an account manager who consolidated the work done by three separate vendors and streamlined the data collection and reporting process. EM sent out pre-meeting email surveys one week before each meeting to the registered attendees. This data was directly inputted into the MECC’s personalized EducationalTrak™ site.
Educational Measures provided on-site ARS/ AV technicians for each meeting. The technician collected data using an ARS and handled all of the audio visual needs. The ARS was used to collect both pre- and post-meeting data and the same questions were used throughout the series. The data was uploaded into the client's EducationalTrak™ site immediately following each meeting.
Educational Measures worked with the MECC to design scannable evaluations for each meeting. Following the conclusion of the meeting, the on-site technician hand carried the evaluations back to the Educational Measures office where the forms were immediately scanned. A report of the results was then created and emailed to the client. The data was also uploaded into their EducationalTrak™ site so more reporting could be done at the client’s leisure.
Follow-up surveys were sent to all attendees using the same questions asked on-site using the ARS and the data was directly inputted into the client’s web site where results were immediately available for reporting and analysis. The MECC was then able to determine the retention of knowledge and ultimately the effectiveness of the educational activity.
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| Outcome: |
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Educational Measures devised a solution that encompassed a variety of services that ultimately saved the MECC time and money. By consolidating services provided by three different vendors, costs were kept to a minimum while consistency and quality were maximized. |
| Case Study #6 |
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Evaluation and Outcomes Database |
| Client: |
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Fortune 500 Pharmaceutical Company |
| Issue: |
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A leading pharmaceutical company awards independent medical education grants to providers for the purpose of supplying medical education to healthcare professionals. These providers use different methods of data collection to capture and analyze outcomes and educational effectiveness from their educational initiatives. Data collected from these forums typically resides in multiple formats with relatively little consistency across providers. Also, providers utilize an assortment of reporting processes that are unique to their organization and inconsistent as a whole.
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| Solution: |
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Educational Measures developed an interactive, on-line database, which enabled the pharmaceutical company to analyze trends and showcase aggregate data by therapeutic area and disease state. Educational Measures worked closely with providers to collect the necessary data after an activity was completed and then cleaned and entered the data. Educational Measures then provided reports, highlighting key trends and observations from the data, and provided statistical analyses enabling the company to draw their own conclusions.
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| Outcome: |
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The client now has an interactive database that:
- Provides standardization of data collected across providers
- Creates a data repository for information collected by providers
- Assesses the Provider’s ability to meet educational objectives
- Tracks and reports on any commitment to change from attendees
- Tracks learning retention and practice application of content presented throughout the year
- Assists in determining the effectiveness of educational grants awarded to providers
- Strengthens the company’s ability to present conclusions from the data collected
- Uses data to better understand unmet needs for future educational activities
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Educational Measures works closely with you to develop solutions that meet your specific needs.
Our "One Company, One Call, One Contact" philosophy ensures that your input becomes the directive for our services.
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