A New Approach to E-learning for Physicians

New e-learning technologies offer expanded CME opportunities for busy physicians.

Recently there has been quite a conversation in the industry regarding CME, particularly with respect to the potential for it to be used as a marketing tool. Companies that sell medical products are increasingly creative with respect to e-learning opportunities, with some making significant investments in development and maintenance.

I was reading the new Medcrunch blog when I ran across a case in point, an announcement of an e-learning platform by 123sonography that is aimed specifically at cardiologists. The company is offering a complete course, developed in partnership with the University of Vienna, in echocardiography. What’s more, the content of the course is available for free.

You can readily see the benefit 123sonography will reap by making this investment in training. And while the Medcrunch article said that this kind of service is new to e-health, other medical device companies are already on jumping on the bandwagon — for example, Siemens offers a plethora of courses in support of its MRI.

If you’ve ever taken a course like this, I’d like to hear how it compares to live CME classes. I’d also be interested to know how the costs of the courses compare to on site classes. The few e-learning opportunities I’ve reviewed seem to be offered at a comparatively low rate, while universities are charging a premium for the convenience of online coursework.