| Project Objectives / Summary:
The pilot established a secure online listing and booking facility for Continuing Medical Education (CME) that is accessible to GPs and practice staff via the Web. The objectives of the project were to provide both Divisions (as CME providers) and GPs and practice staff (the users) with a secure, functional, reliable web-based facility that would be used for both CME bookings and record keeping. The facility would include a queuing system for bookings, an automatic confirmation advice and act as a wider calendar of events.
Project Collaboration:
The SA Divisions of General Practice (SADI) and the General Practice Information Management Company (GPIMC) both provided in-kind support. cmebookings.com has been developed in consultation with doctors and providers over the past 18 months.
Project Outcomes:
The service provides a comprehensive online calendar of continuing professional development (CPD) events in SA, allowing members to;
- book realtime & online into an education activity using browser software only;
- access one site in order to find out what's happening in SA;
- members to specify their areas of interests and have the details of matching activities emailed directly to them as soon as the education provider lists them (push approach);
- view a list of attended activities;
- access pre and post event information i.e. speaker notes; and
- Providers can fully manage & maintain their events via the website
Currently all 14 SA Divisions -along with 17 other major providers of CPD -list their events on the service; this covers the vast majority of CPD offered in SA. These providers give logon access to over 4, 700 of their members by simply using their QA number or initial and surname (see site for further details).
The system allows providers to reach health professionals from a variety of bodies, disciplines & levels (post & under graduate) as well as targeting those health professionals who are interested in their activities. Furthermore the system allows providers to easily access a list of what has been done in a particular area and what is being planned in the future at a statewide level. The system provides great potential for government and other bodies to strategically assess current CPD needs and uptake at a local, state and national level. Furthermore the system has the ability to help bring about vertical integration of the delivery of education to all health professionals.
Recommendations:
There needs to be a means for successful projects to take the next step before they can be self funding.
Disseminating Project Information:
Publications:
CME Newsletter to all Division practices
Division website
Conferences:
RACGP Computing Conference
National Divisions Forum, Sydney, November 2001
National launch at the National Divisions Network Forum 2002, Brisbane.
Lessons / Assessment:
This was a low budget, short duration project that delivered a valuable, practical outcome. Sustainability will depend largely on both usage rates and the sourcing of further funding.
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