Online CME: Quality, Management and Ethics
Last Updated July 24, 2008.

Special Notice!! Looking for reviewers to help keep the List up-to-date.

The sites described on this page are primarily concerned with medical quality, management, legal, ethical and business issues. Some of these sites contain courses required for licensure in various states. You may find additional online CME sites and courses concerned with medical quality, management and ethics at the main online CME site.

AMDA cmedirect
Last visited...3/2006.
Credit hours....1.0 or 1.5 (12 courses offering 21.5 hours of credit).
Awarded by....American Medical Directors Association.
Cost for Credit....$20 for AMDA members; $40 for nonmembers.
Instruction Type...Slide-Video Lecture.
Target Audiences...FP, IM, GER.
Educational material last updated....2005.
Financial Support...Multiple Pharmaceutical Companies.

This site is aimed at physicians who are medical directors in long-term care facilities. Four webcast programs are: Immunization in Long Term Care; Pain Management; Practical Guidelines for Handling VRE and MRSA in Long Term Care; and Urinary Incontinence in Long Term Care. 
You will also find eight self-study programs, each offering two hours of credit: Acute Change of Condition, Common Infections in the Long Term Care Setting, COPD Management in Long Term Care, Depression in Long Term Care, Falls and Fall Risk in Long Term Care, Osteoporosis in Long Term Care, Pain Management in the Long Term Care Setting and Pressure Ulcers and Pressure Ulcer Therapy.

AAFP Family Practice Management
Last visited...3/2006.
Credit hours..3.0 to 4.0 per issue (about 40 hours in 10 issues now available).
Awarded by...AAFP.
Cost.........Free.
Instruct. Type...Text-And-Graphics.
Target Audience....FP.
Educ. material last updated....10-11 issues per year.
CME Credit Expires...1 year after publication.
Financial support...None Stated.

Each month's issue of this online journal contains a series of articles concerning management issues in primary care and questions relating to those articles. Members of the AAFP may submit the answers to quizzes online, while nonmembers must complete and mail in the tear-out card found in the paper version of the journal.

American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians
Last visited...11/2006.
Credit hours...About 14 courses offering about 53 hours of credit.
Awarded by....ABQAURP.
Cost for Credit....About $40 per hour (members pay less).
Instruction Type....Text-and-Graphics.
Target Audience...General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2006.
Financial support...None Stated.

Some large comprehensive courses (3 to 10 credit hours) are: Medical Error Prevention and Patient  Safety, Parts 1 and 2; A Review of the Core Body of Knowledge (CBK); and Preventing, Detecting and Addressing Fraud and Abuse. You will find six shorter journal articles (1.0 to 1.5 credit hours) on various aspects of medical quality. There is also a single free course on bioterrorism and biological weapons of mass destruction.

Baylor Medical Ethics 
Last visited...3/2006.
Credit hours...4 courses offering 7.0 total hours.
Awarded by....Baylor.
Cost for Credit....Free.
Instruction Type....Slide-Video Lecture.
Target Audiences.....General Interest.
Educ. material last updated....2005.

Four presentations, illustrating various aspects of medical ethics, drawn from the other sections of this site (pediatrics,  breast cancer and women's health).

Continuing Cancer Education Curriculum for Health Professionals: Human Participant Protections Education for Research Teams
Last visited...5/2006.
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....Cine-Med.
Cost for Credit......Free. 
Instruction Type...Text-Only.
Target Audiences...ONCO, General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2002.
Financial Support...National Cancer Institute.

This tutorial is intended for use by those involved in the design and conduct of research involving human participants. The tutorial presents "common concepts, principles, and issues related to protection of human participants. It is intended to act as a companion piece to your institutional policy, as well as local, state, and federal regulations applicable to human research.  The tutorial will help you and your team identify research activities that involve human participants, and help you understand how to protect the rights and welfare of all human participants involved in research."

Clinfosource
Last visited....7/2006.
Credit hours...Up to 6.0.
Awarded by.....University of Washington School of medicine.
Cost for Credit....$50 fee per year plus course fee of $475.
Instruction Type....Slide-and-Text Lectures.
Target Audience....Physicians and staff doing clinical research.
Educational material last updated...2004.
Financial Support...None Stated.

View this site using Internet Explorer. There is a single course, Clinical Research Training for Investigational Site Personnel (CRISP), consisting of 10 modules. The course is intended to provide the necessary training for investigational site personnel to better understand the regulations regarding clinical research in human subjects, and a better understanding of their own responsibilities in planning and conducting clinical research.

Cultural Competence Online for Medical Practice (CCOMP) - A Clinician's Guide to Reduce Cardiovascular Disparities
Last visited....7/2008.
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Cost for Credit....Free.
Instruction Type....Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audience....FP, IM.
Educational material last updated....2008.
Financial Support...Multiple non-profits and foundations.

This website offers cultural competence training with the main purpose to reduce cardiovascular disparities. Studying the cases will assist you in improving knowledge, awareness and skills, and in learning effective cross-cultural approaches to care for African-American patients with cardiovascular disease, especially hypertension.

DIA Learning
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...Up to 14.4 hours per course (5 courses offering a total of 72 hours).
Awarded by....St. Louis University Center for Health Care Ethics.
Cost for Credit....Cost is reduced for each additional hour of credit; you pay $231 if you purchase all 12 credits per course.
Instruction Type...Slide-Video Lecture, Text-and-Graphics, Interactive testing.
Target Audiences.....General Interest (Ethics).
Educ. material last updated...2005.
Financial support...None Stated.

Five courses: Persistent Vegetative State “To Live…or Let Die,” featuring the Terri Schiavo story;  A National Emergency “Patient Safety;” Assisted Suicide and End of Life Care: “Dying Well; "Stem Cell Research: “Frontier of Hope and Concern;” and Born Too Soon: “Life and Death in the NICU.”

Educating Physicians on Controversies and Challenges in Health: Health Care Disparities Among Racial-Ethnic Minority Patients
Last visited...1/2008.
Credit hours...1.0.
Awarded by....AMA.
Cost...........Free.
Instruct. Type....Sreaming Viseo.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educ. material last updated....12/07
CME Credit Expires...12/08.
Financial support...None Stated.

After completing this course, you should be able to recognize health care disparities in the United States among racial and ethnic minorities; apply strategies to reduce health care disparities in practice; describe the impact of communication barriers on patient care; and explain strategies to enhance patient-provider communication among racial and ethnic minorities.

Florida Medical Association Online CME
Last visited...7/2006.
Credit hours...1.0 or 2/0 each; total of 3 hours.
Awarded by...Florida Medical Association.
Cost.........$50 per hour ($30 for members of FMA).
Instruction Type....Slide-Audio-Lecture.
Target Audience....General Interest.
Educational material last updated.....2002.
Financial Support...None Stated.

These courses are part of the licensure requirements for Florida physicians. They may also be taken for credit by non-Florida physicians. Those courses are: Domestic Violence in Florida and Prevention of Medical Errors .

Gifts to Physicians from Industry (AMA)
Last visited...1/2008.
Credit hours...1 hour each (4 total).
Awarded by....AMA.
Cost...........Free.
Instruct. Type....Text-and-Graphics. PDF)
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educ. material last updated....2007.
CME Credit Expires...12/08.
Financial support...None Stated.

These modules will help satisfy requirements  for education on professionalism and industry professional relationships by the American Board of Medical Specialties. The four modules include: Overview of Ethical, Professional, and Legal Issues for Physicians' Relationships with Industry; Physicians’ Expectations of Industry and Sales Personnel; Professionalism and Gifts to Physicians from Industry; and American Medical Association Ethical Guidelines on Gifts to Physicians from Industry.

Healthcare Improvement Skills Center (HISC)
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...6 modules each offering 1.0 hours of credit.
Awarded by....School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Cost for Credit......$10 per module. 
Instruction Type...Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2005.
Financial Support...Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco.

This set of 6 modules examines the gap between evidence-based best practice and what clinicians are able to achieve on a daily basis for patients. After completing this course, you will be better able to analyze current care, generate hypotheses about the link between action and results, develop ideas about how to improve, design a test of a change in practice, and plan to disseminate and sustain successful results.

InforMed
Last visited...11/2006.
Credit hours...6 courses; 10 hours.
Awarded by....InforMed.
Cost...........About $20.
Instruct. Type...Text-and-Graphics.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2006
Financial Support...None Stated.

INFORMED specializes in providing CME that meets the requirements  for physicians  seeking initial licensure or wishing to renew their licenses in Florida. Courses for initial licensure are: HIV/AIDS & Other Bloodborne Pathogens (3 Hours); Domestic Violence (1 Hour); and Medical Errors (2 Hours). Courses for license renewal are: HIV/AIDS (1 Hour); Domestic Violence (1 Hour); and Medical Errors (2 Hours).

Legal Medicine 2007
Last visited...5/2008.
Credit hours...5.0 per issue. Total of 50 hours available (over the past 10 years).
Awarded by....Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.
Cost...........Free to full-time military and federal health care providers; $25 per issue for all others.
Instruction Type...Text-Only.
Target Audience...General Interest.
Educational material last updated..2007.
Financial Support...None Stated.

The link shown is to the 2007 issue. From the main page, you can find links to every yearly issue back to 1998. This site contains articles concerning legal aspects of medical practice with special emphasis on the concerns of  military and federal health care providers.  I suggest you print and read the pdf files offline. Some titles from the 2007 issue are: Legal Battles, Medical Ethics, And The Health Care Directive; Avoiding Errors In Clinical Laboratory Critical Value Reporting; and TRICARE Benefit Development.

Massachusetts Medical Society Online CME
Last visited...1/2007.
Credit hours...1.0 or 2.0 each. 22 courses offering a total of 26 hours.
Awarded by....Massachusetts Medical Society.
Cost for Credit....$20 for MMS members; $40 for non-members.
Instruction Type...Slide-Text-Lecture.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educ. material last updated....2006.
Financial Support...None Stated.

You will find courses in these groups:
Perspectives on Clinical Risk Management: Let the Record Show; Nursing Home Malpractice Litigation; Terminating the Physician-Patient Relationship; Hospitalists; The Electronic Health Record; Medical Malpractice Litigation: The Attorney's Perspective; Nonsurgical Cosmetic Procedures; Cultural Diversity; Patient Satisfaction; Closing a Practice; and Difficult Patients (11 activities, 11 hours).
EHR in Your Office (4 modules): E.H.R. 101, Provider Daily Life, Workflow Redesign and Managing Change (4 activities, 4 hours).
Public Health and Patient Safety: 2005 Patient Safety Forum, Communication: Meeting the Challenge, Patient Safety and Communication: An IOM Perspective, Improving the Safety of Patient Care: Engineering a Better Health Care Delivery System, Patient Safety: Conducting a Root Cause Analysis of Adverse Events
Medication Safety, Systems and Communication, and Medical Errors and Perspectives on Patient Safety (7 activities, 11 hours)

MedRisk Online
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...1.0 to 10.0 per program (about 27 courses offering a total of about 127 hours).
Awarded by....Medical Risk Management, Inc.
Cost for Credit....About $20 per credit.
Instruct. Type....Text-Only.
Target Audience...General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2005.
Financial Support...None Stated.

Programs on reducing malpractice risk in various practice settings. Some current courses include: (Course, hours): Focus on Patient Privacy - The HIPAA Privacy Rule (3); Spotlight on Patient Safety: Disclosure of Medical Errors (4); Spotlight on Patient Safety: Preventing Medical Errors (6); Streetwise, Series 6 (6); Risk Management Focus: Office Risks (1); and Risk Management Rounds: Radiology (5).

Radiology InfoNet
Reviewed by Janice Flahiff, Medical Librarian.
Last visited...6/2008.
Credit hours...Nine courses (Number of credits not stated; probably 9).
Awarded by....International Center for Postgraduate Medical Education.
Cost...........Unable to find, but it is not free.
Instruction Type....Text-and-Graphics.
Target Audiences...RAD, Management.
Educational material last updated....Not Stated.
Financial Support...None Stated.
CME Credit Expires...Not Stated.

The focus of this site has changed from clinical radiology to radiology business and management. There are nine CME offerings: Performance Evaluation and Incentive Compensation; Positioning the Radiology Service System; The Language of Senior Management ; Marketing Strategy for Success in Diagnostic Imaging; Effective Marketing of Your Radiology Practice; Presenting and Launching the Business Plan; The Radiology Business Planning Process: Theory & Application; Attracting and Retaining, Qualified Employees; and Human Behavior and Effective Organizational Architectures. Post-test answers may be submitted online, but your check for credit must be sent by mail.

Respond to Domestic Violence Online CME Program
Last visited...7/2006.
Credit hours...16.
Awarded by....Medical Directions, Inc
Cost...........Free.
Instruction Type....Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated.....2006.
Financial Support...Blue Shield, NIH

This multimedia program aims to improve your confidence in managing domestic violence. You will learn how to recognize domestic violence in your practice, respond to your patients’ concerns, assess their health and safety, and connect them to community resources. You will also learn how to comply with California’s mandatory domestic violence reporting laws. Only California physicians may earn CME credit at this site; however, a similar course is available to non-California physicians at Current Management of Domestic Violence: Responding to IPV.

Stanford Medical Informatics Introductory Short Course
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...22.75.
Awarded by....Stanford University Medical Center.
Cost...........$950
Instruct. Type...Slide-Video Lecture.
Target Audience ...General Interest.
Educ. material last updated.....2001.
Financial Support...Multiple Companies.

The Stanford Medical Informatics Introductory Short Course provides an "overview of the field of Medical Informatics using computers for management of clinical information. The lectures communicate the key technical issues in informatics through coordinated lectures that cover major themes in the field. The course also describes state-of-the-art research topics through presentations and demonstrations." Although this course is five years old, there is no indication at the site that credit has expired.

(The) Sullivan Group
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...Most courses offer two hours of credit. 62 courses offering a total of 116 hours).
Awarded by.....The Sullivan Group
Cost ................$20 per credit hour.
Instruction Type...Not Stated (Probably text-only).
Target Audience...ER.
Educational material last updated...2006.
Financial Support...None Stated.

The Sullivan Group is dedicated to improving patient safety and risk management. 
Present online courses are: EMTALA Education (3 Courses, 24 hours); HIPAA Fundamentals (1 Course, 2 hours); Medical Error & Risk Reduction Series: Emergency Medicine (24 Courses, 32 hours); Primary Care Medicine (21 Courses, 30 hours); and Medical Malpractice Case Review Series: Emergency Medicine (14 Courses, probably 28 hours).

Texas Medical Association Ethics CME
Last visited...7/2006.
Credit hours ...1.0 per topic.
Awarded by....Texas Medical Association.
Cost for Credit....$10 per credit.
Instruction Type...Text-Only.
Target Audience ...General Interest.
Educational material last updated.... 2003.
Financial Support...None Stated.

Twelve courses on physicians' health and well being. Topics include: JCAHO Standard Regarding Physician Health; Effective Management of Problem Patients; Emotional Impact of Retirement on Physicians; Maintaining Professional Boundaries; Nicotine Dependence and Its Treatment; Coping with the Stress of Malpractice Litigation; Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among Physicians; Stress and Burnout; Intervention for Physicians who may be Impaired; Peer Assistance Committees; Care for the Caregiver; and Regulatory and Ethical Aspects of Prescribing Controlled Substances to Pain Patients. To apply for CME credit, print, complete, and mail a 10-item questionnaire along with payment.

Tufts Health Care Institute
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours...1.0 per module (total of 10 hours).
Awarded by....Thomas R. Beam Institute and Tufts University School of Medicine.
Cost...........Free.
Instruct ion Type...Text-and-Graphics.
Target Audience ...General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2004.
Financial Support... Merck; Sanofi-Synthelabo.

A set of ten online courses in the area of Quality Care, Cost-Effectiveness and Care Management. Follow the "Online Learning" links from the home page to the registration page. These modules explore the roles of clinicians as managers of care and stewards of resources, and present strategies, tools and processes that providers can draw upon. The content relates to ACGME/ABMS competencies in Systems-Based Practice and Practice-Based Learning and Improvement.

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Last visited...12/2007.
Credit hours...A single course:  Medical Ethics (2 credits).
Awarded by....University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Cost...........$90.
Instruction Type....Text-Only.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2007.
Financial Support...None Stated.

A single course:  Medical Ethics (2 credits). You must print and mail in the answer sheet along with your check in order to receive CME credit.

University of South Florida Business of Medicine Certificate Program
Last visited...6/2006.
Credit hours ...24 per module (total of 96 hours in 4 modules).
Awarded by....University of South Florida College of Medicine.
Cost for Credit....about $40 per credit.
Instruct ion Type....Slide-Video and Correspondence.
Target Audiences....General interest.
Educational material last updated...11/01.
Financial Support...None Stated.

This program is a "mini-MBA" for physicians. It consists of four separate but related courses: Marketing and the Management of Service Quality; Managing People and Developing Strategies; The Business Environment of Health Care; and Data Driven Management. in addition to the lectures, you have assignments and discussions with the instructor and other students.

WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web
Last visited...11/2007.
Credit hours...15.
Awarded by....AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research)
Cost for Credit.....Free.
Instruction Type....Text-Only
Target Audiences....SURG, ANES, CRIT CARE, IM, PED, ER.
Educational material last updated...2007.
Financial Support...US Government.

Most presentations illustrate physician, nursing or pharmacist errors and focus on the prevention of such errors. Some recent cases include: Do Not Disturb!; Medication Reconciliation: Whose Job Is It?; Resuscitation Errors: A Shocking Problem; Beeline to Spine; Antiseizure Medication Disorder; and Failure to Report.

Return to Annotated List of Online CME

This list was compiled by Bernard M. Sklar, MD, MS