Interview with Lawrence Sherman on eCME and ePatients

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Lawrence Sherman since we first met on the digital health conference circuit, when, as he likes to remind us, I was the first person (and possibly the only one!) to answer his first audience interactivity question.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Lawrence Sherman since we first met on the digital health conference circuit, when, as he likes to remind us, I was the first person (and possibly the only one!) to answer his first audience interactivity question. I want to thank him for taking the time to answer a few questions for you, about online Continuing Medical Education, ePatients, and more.

Denise Silber: The members of the Doctors 2.0 & You community are interested in concrete facts about the existing use of new technologies in healthcare. Please tell us from your perspective, how has digital already been integrated with success in medical education?

Lawrence Sherman: Online delivery of continuing medical education (eCME) has become commonplace and accepted as a part of the lifelong learning of physicians and other healthcare professionals. We are seeing it used at home and at the point of care, at the bedside and in bed. Additional digital platforms are being used not only for the delivery of the medical education, but also to engage the learners during all time points during the educational continuum, from measuring needs all the way through the measurement of impact of the education on the learners. New platforms now allow for the integration of note taking within eCME activities and for engaging more directly with their learning environment.

DS: Medical education is changing to integrate the patient perspective. What is the best example of where that has already been done? And how did digital play a role in that?

LS: We have seen the incorporation of the patient perspective into medical education, often with the use of patients as parts of panels during educational activities. In addition, there have been instances of patients serving as faculty members during medical education activities. Technology has facilitated the dialogue between medical educators and patients and patient advocacy organizations. Social media platforms provide opportunities for medical educators to access the patient perspective while assessing educational needs and subsequently when developing education. Live tweeting during medical education activities permit patients as well as other stakeholders to interact real-time with other patients, learners and the faculty.

DS: Global outlook is an important part of your vision. Can you give us an example of what has worked “globally” in terms of digital tools and services? Where do you see the line between national, multi-country, and truly global?

LS: We have long seen that borders do not exist when it comes to eCME. Online education provides an opportunity for anyone seeking education and information to access content. Not all online content can be accessed, but I have seen many eCME programs accessed by learners worldwide, despite the location of the content. Adult learners are self-directed, and when they are seeking an answer to a clinical question, geographic borders are not barriers for accessing content.

ECME initiatives have also been developed on a multi-national basis and centralized curricula have been been customized to reflect local and regional guidelines, processes and cultural differences

DS: You have selected Doctors 2.0 & You as one if not “the” conference to support. Can you tell us why and why an attendee would benefit?

LS: It is a conference that has a mission that I believe in – to bridge the gap between patients and healthcare professionals by use of technology. It is an academic conference and brings together the right presenters to discuss the issues pertinent to the mission. Presentations are relevant and actionable.

Thank you, Lawrence, for this great interview.