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Cultural Competence CME
Domestic Violence CME
Medical Ethics CME

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Cultural Competence CME:

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Cultural Competence CME:

Delivering Culturally Competent Care: Managing Type 2 Diabetes in Diverse Populations
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...Up to 9 hours.
Awarded by....University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Instruction Type....Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audiences...ENDO (any physician who treats diabetes).
Financial Support...None.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

This course will help you to:
Improve your cross-cultural management skills and understand important terms, such as race, ethnicity, and culture; 
Meet your ethical obligations to provide open, respectful patient communication, 
Reduce the risks and problems of miscommunication; 
Recognize patterns of health care disparities and utilize strategies for eliminating factors that influence them; 
Deal with cultural issues when recommending lifestyle modifications and preventive measures in persons with type 2 diabetes; and 
Follow current treatment guidelines for type 2 diabetes, including the appropriate use of oral agents and introduction of insulin.

Audio-Digest Ethics/Cultural Sensitivity/Linguistics CME
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...Up to 10.
Awarded by....Audio-Digest Foundation.
Cost...........$24.99 (MP3 podcast) or $27.99 (Audio CD). 
Format...Online Audio MP3 or Audio CD.
Target Audiences...All physicians interested in medical ethics.
Educational material last updated...2012.
Expiration of CME credit...Three years after release.

Five two-hour programs: Cultural and Socioeconomic Factors in Psychotherapy for Youth and Families, Culture and Development, Interpersonal Skills, Cultural Conundrums and Cultural Pearls: Observations on Population-Based Care.

See the complete list of Audio-Digest Programs in other specialties

Communicating Through Healthcare Interpreters
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....Rush University Medical Center.
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

Communicating Through Healthcare Interpreters will help you to:
Understand the legal requirements and clinical importance of working with interpreters;
Better manage your communications with patients who do not speak English;
Appropriately use interpreters and interpretive services in your practice setting; and
Improve your level of cultural competency.

Culture & End of Life Care: Collaborating with Interdisciplinary Partners
Credit hours...1.5.
Awarded by....American Academy of Family Physicians
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Meets Special CME Requirements in: California (End of Life and Geriatrics), Connecticut (Cultural Competence), Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.

After completing this program, you should be better able to:
• Analyze advantages for using a skilled interpreter with limited English proficiency (LEP) patients or patients who don't speak English at all;
• Learn how and why to conduct a pre-session with an interpreter;
• Identify strategies for successful communication when working with an interpreter;
• Elicit the patient's perspective when a family member tries to speak for her;
• Encourage the patient to learn what Western medicine offers, so she can make an informed decision;
• Negotiate a treatment plan, offering your recommendations while respecting the patient's perspective;
• Collaborate with a complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) provider to meet the patient's treatment goals;
• Build a lasting relationship with the patient;
• Observe that members of the same family and culture may hold different spiritual values;
• Identify several options for resolving conflicting values;
• Analyze the results when spiritual needs are addressed in planning end-of-life care;
• Analyze how different approaches to ethical decision making might lead to conflict between a physician and a nurse;
• Identify possible pitfalls in handling interdisciplinary conflict; and
• Assess strategies for addressing interdisciplinary conflicts effectively.

Culture & End of Life Care: Conversations with Patients and Families
Credit hours...1.0.
Awarded by....American Academy of Family Physicians
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Meets Special CME Requirements in: California (End of Life and Geriatrics), Connecticut (Cultural Competence), Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.

After completing this program, you should be better able to:
• Compare methods of giving bad news to a patient;
• Consider ways to respond when a patient is overwhelmed and raises questions that are difficult to answer;
• Identify a series of steps that physicians can take to examine and address their own emotions in order to preserve the quality of patient care and protect the physician's well-being;
• Elicit information from family members to clarify the incapacitated patient's motivations when she completed a living will;
• Sort the facts surrounding an ethical question in an end-of-life situation.
• Develop and consider options for resolving ethical issues;
• Give advice to patients about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) based on evidence;
• Negotiate treatment plans with patients who elect to use CAM along with conventional care; and
• Monitor patients' usage of CAM.

Culture & End of Life Care: Patients' Beliefs and Values
Credit hours...1.5.
Awarded by....American Academy of Family Physicians
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Meets Special CME Requirements in: California (End of Life and Geriatrics), Connecticut (Cultural Competence), Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.

After completing this program, you should be better able to:
• Ask questions that will help you gather information on the patient's Explanatory • Model, or understanding, of her illness experience;
• Organize your approach to culture using the LEARN mnemonic: Listen, Explain, • • Acknowledge, Recommend, and Negotiate;
• Elicit and respond to patients' faith-based values and goals for care;
• Enable patients to anticipate and consider aspects of the dying process they might not have considered;
• Facilitate communication with others who will be involved in patients' end-of-life care;
• Incorporate patients' values and preferences in advance care planning;
• Identify options for responding to requests from a patient's family that raise ethical questions;
• Analyze how to offer truth in order to elicit your patients' preferences;
• Negotiate solutions that respect patients' preferences as well as your ethical duty;
• Evaluate evidence for and against complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices;
• Advise patients on the basis of evidence;
• Negotiate treatment plans with patients who incorporate CAM; and
• Build trust and promote open communication with patients.

Language Access and the Law
Credit hours...2.25 hours.
Awarded by....University of Minnesota.
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Texas.

Course Learning Objectives:
• To help participants understand the legal, business, patient safety, and quality-of-care reasons why the provision of language assistance to Limited English Proficient patients is such a critical issue in the U.S. health care system today.
• To provide an overview of federal law and industry regulations pertaining to the provision of language access to Limited English Proficient patients.
• To assist health care professionals in understanding their legal duties and obligations to Limited English Proficient patients and their families.
• To offer guidance to health care professionals in meeting and/or discharging these legal obligations.
• To teach health care professionals how to: 1) avoid unwanted litigation and 2) proactively manage legal risks. The goal is to improve participants' ability to identify language access issues that can create liability in multiple, health-related contexts.

Domestic Violence CME:

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Domestic Violence CME:

Current Management of Domestic Violence - Responding to IPV
Credit hours...Up to 16 hours.
Awarded by....University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Texas.

Current Management of Domestic Violence - Responding to IPV will help you to:
Improve your skills by managing up to 17 patient cases;
Meet your ethical and legal obligations to screen patients for intimate partner violence (IPV); and appropriately respond to disclosures of abuse; Assess the safety of IPV victims; and
Work with your patients to change their violent situation.

Identifying and Evaluating Child Abuse (Sponsored Link)
Last visited...1/2011.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours..2.0.
Credit Awarded by....University of Missouri-Columbia.
Cost...........$50.
Instruction Type...Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audience...PED, FP, IM, ER, OB/GYN, and other physicians who treat children.
Educational material last updated...2010.
Financial support...None.
Meets Special CME Requirements in... Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas.

Identifying and Evaluating Child Abuse will help you to:
• Perform evaluations in cases of suspected child abuse;
• Document injuries appropriately; and
• Work with law enforcement and community agencies.
This program meets special CME requirements in these states:
• Connecticut - Risk Management
• Massachusetts - Risk Management
• New York Child Abuse
• Pennsylvania Risk - Management / Patient Safety
• Texas - Medical Ethics / Professional Responsibility

Accident or Injury? Managing Abuse in Younger Children
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.
Cost...........$25 per hour.
Meets Special CME Requirements in....Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

Accident or Injury? Managing Abuse in Younger Children will help you: 
Recognize and evaluate cases of suspected child physical abuse and child sexual abuse; 
Document injuries appropriately; 
Understand your responsibilities as a mandated reporter; 
Recount the investigative processes involved in suspected child abuse cases; and 
Collaborate effectively with child protective services (CPS) and law enforcement agencies.

Medical Ethics CME:

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Medical Ethics CME:

Audio-Digest Series Specials Ethics CME
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...11 issues offering a total of 22 hours.
Awarded by....Audio-Digest Foundation.
Cost...........$24.99 (MP3 podcast) or $27.99 (Audio CD) (15% discount if you buy all 11 issues). 
Format...Online Audio MP3 or Audio CD.
Target Audiences...All physicians interested in medical ethics.
Educational material last updated...2012.
Expiration of CME credit...Three years after release.

Audio-Digest Series Specials Ethics CME includes discussions of the most pressing issues in medical ethics. Each program offers discussions of ethical issues in: Anesthesiology, General Medicine, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Pediatrics and Psychiatry. 

See the complete list of Audio-Digest Programs in other specialties

Audio-Digest Ethics/Cultural Sensitivity/Linguistics CME
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...Up to 10.
Awarded by....Audio-Digest Foundation.
Cost...........$24.99 (MP3 podcast) or $27.99 (Audio CD). 
Format...Online Audio MP3 or Audio CD.
Target Audiences...All physicians interested in medical ethics.
Educational material last updated...2012.
Expiration of CME credit...Three years after release.

Five two-hour programs: Cultural and Socioeconomic Factors in Psychotherapy for Youth and Families, Culture and Development, Interpersonal Skills, Cultural Conundrums and Cultural Pearls: Observations on Population-Based Care.

See the complete list of Audio-Digest Programs in other specialties

See Special Offers for Subscriptions to Practical Reviews and Audio-Digest →

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See Special Offers for Subscriptions to Practical Reviews and Audio-Digest →

AHRQ's Effective Health Care Program's Free Online CME/CE Activities
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...About 30 activities offering a total of about 30 credit hours.
Awarded by...Various Sponsors.
Cost for Credit..... Free.
Instruction Type....Case-Based Interactive, Slides
Target Audience....MDs and other Healthcare Professionals.
Educational material last updated...October 2011.
Financial Support...See individual activity.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) sponsors CME/CE activities that are developed from systematic reviews of evidence on a wide range of topics.
CME/CE activities are available for these health conditions and methods areas:
• Breathing Conditions;
• Cancer;
• Developmental Delays, ADHD, Autism;
• Diabetes;
• Heart and Blood Vessel Conditions;
• Mental Health;
• Muscle, Bone, and Joint Conditions;
• AHRQ Training Modules for the Systematic Reviews Methods Guide; and
• Other Topics.

BupPractice.com - Buprenorphine (Suboxone) Training and Practice Tools
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours and Cost....Two courses:
ASAM DATA 2000-Qualifying Buprenorphine Training, 8 hours, $175.
Post-Training Buprenorphine Cases, 4 hours, $80.
Awarded by....Clinical Tools, Inc.
Instruction Type...Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audiences...General Interest, PSYCH, ADDICTION, PAIN MANAGEMENT.
Educational material last updated....2010.
Financial support...National Institute on Drug Abuse.

"The Buprenorphine Training Program (first course) fulfills the physician-training requirements of the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000). According to DATA 2000 requirements, physicians must complete 8 hours of education, such as this program provides, if they wish to become eligible to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid dependence. Upon the successful completion of the training, and once they have met other requirements, physicians can submit a “notification of intent” to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to become eligible to prescribe buprenorphine." The second course, Post-Training Buprenorphine Cases, gives additional training.

CDC Training and Continuing Education OnLine 
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...Most courses offer 2.5 hours. There are 41 courses offering about 100 hours (courses counted; hours not counted).
Awarded by...CDC.
Cost..........Free.
Instruct. Type.....Slide-Audio Lecture.
Target Audience....PREV MED, ID.
Educational material last updated...2010.
Financial support...CDC.

After login, Choose "Search." You may then search for courses by date, keyword, or display all. I recommend keyword "Web on Demand". This will bring you to a list of online courses on public health and preventive medicine topics with an emphasis on vaccination.

CMEMedEd
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...One activity, offering 2.0 hours.
Awarded by....Medical Education Resources.
Cost for Credit....$50.
Instruction Type....Slide-Video Lecture.
Target Audience....Radiology (MRI).
Educational material last updated...January 16, 2012.
Financial support...None Stated.
CME Credit Expires...January 16, 2014.

This new site presently offers a single course, Advanced MRI Safety Training for MRI Healthcare Professionals: CME Version. 
This 90-minute program reviews critical data regarding safety in the magnetic resonance environment. 
After completing this course, you will be able to:
• Recognize MRI-related bioeffects and safety issues
• Apply proper patient management information related to the MRI environment
• Employ comprehensive screening procedures to ensure safety
• Interpret proper MRI labeling information for implants and devices
• Recognize safety issues related to MRI contrast agents

Cultural Competence Online for Medical Practice (CCOMP) - A Clinician's Guide to Reduce Cardiovascular Disparities
Last visited....3/2012.
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Cost for Credit....Free.
Instruction Type....Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audience....FP, IM, General Interest.
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...June 2013.
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.”

eACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support)
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours..6.0.
Awarded by...American College of Emergency Physicians.
Cost.........$130.
Instruction Type...Not Stated.
Target Audience....ER (And all medical professionals who are required to be credentialed in advanced cardiac life support).
Educational material last updated....Not Stated.
Financial support...None Stated.

eACLS™ covers the ten advanced cardiac life support topics required for certification:
* Acute coronary syndromes
* AED use
* Asystole
* Bradycardia
* Narrow complex tachycardia
* Pulseless electrical activity
* Respiratory arrest
* Stroke
* Ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia
* Wide complex tachycardia
The online course takes an average of four hours to complete (approximately 20 minutes per topic). After completing all 10 sections of the course, a 50-question final exam follows. A score of 80% or higher on the final exam is required. 

Family Practice Management Quiz
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...2.25 or 3.5 per issue (20 hours in 6 issues now available).
Awarded by...AAFP.
Cost........Free to AAFP members or paid subscribers.
Instruction Type...Text-And-Graphics.
Target Audience....FP.
Educational material last updated....6 issues per year.
CME Credit Expires...1 year after publication.
Financial support...None Stated.

Each bi-monthly 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.

Florida Medical Association Online CME
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...1.0 to 3.0 each; total of 9 hours.
Awarded by...Florida Medical Association.
Cost.........$50 per hour (Free for members of Florida Medical Association).
Instruction Type....Slide-Audio-Lecture.
Target Audience....General Interest.
Educational material last updated.....2010.
Financial Support...None Stated.

These five 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 (2 hours); End-of-Life Care (3 hours);  Prevention of Medical Errors (2 hours) and HIV/AIDS (1 hour); and Physicians' Online Tutorial for Completing Cause of Death on the Florida Death Record (Free).

Forensic Drug Abuse Advisor (FDAA)
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...13.0.
Awarded by...American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the Forensic Drug Abuse Advisor.
Cost.........$197.
Instruction Type....Text-Only.
Target Audience....PATH, General Interest.
Educational material last updated....Monthly.
Financial Support...None Stated.

After reading and studying these articles, you should be able to: Identify the latest developments in the forensic toxicology of abused drugs; Interpret recent developments in drug-related forensic pathology; Describe new techniques and new regulations in workplace drug testing including: hair, urine, sweat, and saliva; Evaluate which products are appropriate for use in pre-employment and on-site testing; Discuss and explain the medical consequences of drug abuse; Identify and explain newly discovered problems with existing testing modalities; Explain new techniques and approaches in forensic drug testing methodology; Analyze the pitfalls, difficulties, and unique problems associated with postmortem toxicology; Define the issues associated with Doping in Sports (Drugs in Sports) including: testosterone, anabolic steroids, erythropoietin, human growth hormones, etc., and the problems of detection; and Identify and rank the current trends in drug use in various parts of the country.

Having the Difficult Conversation: Counseling Your Patients on End of Life Decisions
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...2.0.
Awarded by....Boston University School of Medicine.
Cost..........Free.
Instruction Type...Slide-Audio Lectures.
Target Audience...Primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants.
Expiration of CME credit...June 30, 2014.
Financial Support...None Stated.

After completing this course, you will be able to:
• Explain the legal ramifications of the Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991.
• List three goals of advance directives.
• Use goals of care in negotiating advance directives with patients.
• Present an evidence-based approach to the completion of advance directives in the outpatient office setting.
• Initiate an end-of-life care discussion with a terminally ill patient.
• Describe the goals of care and how they guide the end-of-life care decision-making process.
• Outline the role of hospice in end-of-life care.
• Present an evidence-based approach to the completion of advance directives in the outpatient office setting
This program meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for 2 hours of end of life care education and 2 hours of risk management study.

Healthcare Improvement Skills Center (HISC)
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...6 modules each offering 1.0 hour of credit.
Awarded by....School of Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia.
Cost for Credit......Not stated (You need to be registered and logged in to see this information)
Instruction Type...Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated...9/2010.
Financial Support...Center for the Health Professions, University of California, San Francisco.

This site provides training in quality improvement (QI) and includes:
• Completion of the two part QI Skills Self-Assessment and Summary: 3 credits
• Completion of the QI Skill Development Plan: 1 credit
• Completion of each of the 6 HISC QI Skills Learning Modules (see "modules" below): Successful completion of all six modules could add up to a maximum of 6 category 1 credits. 1 credit each, for up to 6 credits
• Completion of the QI Project Plan, a QI project off line, and the QI Project Assessment 15 credits.
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.

IDCareLive-Top 10 Topics in Key Areas of Infectious Disease: 
A Snapshot of What’s New, Important, and Changing
This meeting was presented live online on November 16 & 17, 2011, and is now available on demand through May 17, 2012
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...9.0.
Awarded by....Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Cost...........Free.
Instruction Type...Slide- Video Lectures, Q & A, Live Chat.
Target Audiences...Infectious Disease specialists, Hepatologists, Primary Care Physicians, Family and Internal Medicine Practitioners, Nurses, Physician Assistants, Pharmacists and other healthcare professionals involved in caring for patients across the spectrum of infectious disease. 
Educational material last updated...Nov 17, 2011.
Financial Support...Cubist Pharmaceuticals and Abbott Laboratories. 
Expiration of CME credit...May 17, 2012.

IDCareLive-Top 10 Topics in Key Areas of Infectious Disease: A Snapshot of What’s New, Important, and Changing was presented live online on November 16 & 17, 2011, and is now available on demand through May 17, 2012.
Session One Topics:
• Keynote Address: The State of Infectious Disease
• Current Trends in Infection Control
• 10 Observations in Clostridium Difficile
• Top 10 Developments in Hepatitis C
Session Two Topics:
• Top 10 Vaccine Messages
• Top Ten Key Therapeutic & Diagnostic Game Changers in the U.S.
• Ten Hot Topics in AIDS/HIV
• What Have We Learned About Flu since 2009: Ten Important Lessons
• New STD Guidelines From the CDC and Your Patient
After participating in this activity, you will be able to:
• Identify appropriate therapies for antibiotic resistant bacterial infections;
• Integrate infection control procedures in your daily practice;
• Utilize newly approved antibiotic agents;
• Recognize and better manage infections due to C. difficile;
• Incorporate new therapies and recommendations for patients with HIV;
• Implement new developments in the area of HCV management;
• Incorporate recommendations into immunization and treatment for influenza;
• Integrate current vaccination guidelines for adult and pediatric patients;
• Assess and utilize new molecular diagnostic tests appropriately; and
• Implement new guidelines on STD prevention and treatment.

Improving Religio-Cultural Competence in Patient Care
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...1.0.
Awarded by....The New York Academy of Medicine.
Cost for Credit....$25
Instruction Type...Slide-audio lecture.
Target Audiences....General Interest, Cultural Competence, Ethics, Complementary/Alternative Medicine.
Educational material last updated....2011.
Financial Support...Stavros Niarchos Foundation and the F.I.S.H Foundation.
CME Credit Expires...April 2015.

Improving Religio-Cultural Competence in Patient Care helps physicians and other health care providers understand how cultural practices and religious beliefs may impact patient decision-making, treatment options and the provision of patient-centered care.
After completing this course you should be able to: 
• Understand why religio-cultural competence is an essential skill for health care professionals
• Identify common obstacles to communicating with patients about religious beliefs that affect compliance and care
• Recognize how providers’ own religious and cultural backgrounds impact interactions
• Identify the 15 themes where religious beliefs affect patient care
• Learn techniques for effective communication around patient religious beliefs and practices

InforMed
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...4 courses; 6 hours.
Awarded by....InforMed.
Cost...........About $20.
Instruct. Type...Text-and-Graphics.
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2011.
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 include Self-Directed Learning, The Internet and CME; Medical Errors; HIV/AIDS; and Domestic Violence. All content is included in a downloadable 66 page pdf file.

Massachusetts Medical Society Online CME
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...1.0 to 3.0 each. About 37 courses offering a total of about 40 hours.
Awarded by....Massachusetts Medical Society.
Cost for Credit....$10 for MMS members; $20 for non-members.
Instruction Type..."Case Study, Podcast, Slides, Slide-Audio Lecture, Text & Graphics."
Target Audiences...Risk Management, General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2011.
Financial Support...None Stated.

Courses are organized into these groups: Communication; Health and Wellness; Legal Risk Management; Medical Ethics; Patient Safety; Practice Improvement; and Public Health. Two Featured Courses are: Legal Advisor: Advance Directives; and Health Care Providers Brace for Medicare Audits (RAC).

Medical Risk Management, Inc. (MedRisk) (Sponsored Link)
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD. 
Credit hours...1.0 to 10.0 per program (Over 50 courses offering a total of more than 214 hours).
Awarded by....Medical Risk Management, Inc.
Cost for Credit....$15 per credit.
Instruct. Type....Text-Only.
Target Audience...Risk Management (all providers who need CME in risk management, patient safety and medical error prevention).
Educational material last updated...2011.
Financial Support...None Stated.

Medical Risk Management, Inc. (MedRisk) provides online CME focusing on risk management, patient safety and medical error prevention. MedRisk offers over 50 courses for physicians, dentists and nurses. Representative topics include preventing medical errors; avoiding “never” events; avoiding medical systems failures; low health literacy; cultural competency; medical ethics; and electronic medicine. Specialty-specific courses are available in these areas: 
Anesthesiology; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; Emergency Medicine; Hospital Medicine;  Neurology; Obstetrics/Gynecology; Ophthalmology; Orthopedic Surgery; Pathology; Pediatrics;  Psychiatry; Radiology; and Surgery.
  Courses meet most states’ requirements for licensure as well as many malpractice insurers’ requirements for premium discounts. Hardcopy versions are available for those who don’t want to take CME online.

NetCE Continuing Education on the Internet
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...1.0 to 15.0 hours (73 courses totaling about 500 hours).
Awarded by....CME Resource.
Cost..........Most cost about $5 per hour; some free.
Instruction  Type....Text-Only.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2010.
Financial Support...None Stated.

Many courses at NetCE meet state licensure requirements. You can easily search from the main page according to your state's requirements.
You can order courses individually or in groups. Some groups of courses are:
Physicians Special Offer - 30 Hours for $79;
Medical Ethics (5 hours for $19);
Risk Management (5 hours for $19);
Florida Medical Error Prevention (2 hours for $10); and
Florida Domestic Violence (2 hours for $10).
You can also find a list of All NetCE Courses for Physicians.

Organized Medical Staff Section (OMSS) Webcasts
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...23 activities for a total of 34.5 hours.
Awarded by....AMA.
Cost...........$50 each for members; $100 each for nonmembers.
Instruct. Type....Webcast.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educational material last updated....2011.
CME Credit Expires...Not Stated.
Financial support...None Stated.

This section has 23- 90-minute webcasts. Recent titles include:
• Reducing the Readmissions Rate in a Hospital
• From Statewide to Bedside Transformation
• Evaluating and Choosing Your Mode of Practice
• Physician Employment Agreements (AMA Models)
• Physician Led Organizational Structures for the Future
• Implementing the New Joint Commission Medical Staff Bylaws Standard – MS.01.01.01

Penn CME  
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...42 activities offering 1.0 to 3.5 hours (total of 49 hours).
Awarded by...University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.
Cost for Credit.....Free (But see comment about Achieving Cultural Competency ===>)
Instruction Type....Slide-Video Lectures, Case-Based Interactive.
Target Audience...General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2011.
Financial Support...Various pharmaceutical companies. 

After registering or logging in, click on the "Courses" tab, then "List courses." The major offerings are:
Achieving Cultural Competency - 27 activities, 27 hours (in order to access these activities, you need to purchase a book for $69.95); and
Insights into Pain Management - 7 activities, 7 hours.
You will also find about 8 additional articles, mostly about cancer.

Pennsylvania Medical Society Continuing Medical Education
Last Visited...9/2011.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit Hours: 1.0 or 2.0 hours per activity. About 50 activities.
Awarded by... Pennsylvania Medical Society.  
Cost….Mostly free. “Studies in Patient Safety” (total of 7 hours) costs $25 per credit for non-members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Some activities restricted to members of the Pennsylvania Medical Society.
Instruction Type…Mostly text.
Target Audiences…Pennsylvania Medical Society members and all physicians. Pennsylvania physicians can use credits to meet state requirements for patient safety and risk management.
Educational material last updated….2010.
Financial Support…None stated.
CME Credit Expires...Three years after posting.

The Pennsylvania Medical Society focuses on patient safety and risk management CME to help physicians meet state requirements in these areas. Studies in Patient Safety is based on real patient safety incidents reported to the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority. Consult focuses on risk management and intouch helps improve communications with patients. Domestic Violence: Screen to End Abuse helps physicians create an atmosphere of trust so patients will confide in them about abuse relationships. Counter Details offers clinical CME usually produced in associating with the health care agencies of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Consult and intouch are restricted to members only, while all other activities are also available to non-members.

Prescriber's Letter
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...1.0 hour per month.
Awarded by....Therapeutic Research.
Cost for Credit.....$24 per year for credit only, but must have an subscription to access material, $88 for single subscription, multiuser subscriptions available; you can also view and receive credit for any individual activity for $19.
Instruction Type....Text-Only.
Target Audience....Multiple Specialties, General Interest. 
Educational material last updated...Monthly.
Financial Support...None.

Prescriber's Letter provides analysis and interpretations along with recommendations related to drug therapy. Along with each monthly Letter, subscribers can access Detail-Documents to provide in-depth references and further interpretation and background on any subject. Submit CME quiz online for credit. 

Sullivan Group
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...Most courses offer two hours of credit (except EMTALA which has a few larger sections). 80 courses offering a total of 174 hours).
Awarded by.....The Sullivan Group
Cost ................$25 per credit hour.
Instruction Type...Not Stated (Probably text-only).
Target Audience...ER, FP, IM, RISK MANAGEMENT.
Educational material last updated...2011.
Financial Support...None Stated.

The Sullivan Group is dedicated to improving patient safety and risk management. 
Present online courses are: 
Medical Error & Risk Reduction Series: Emergency Medicine (54 Courses - 108 hours); Obstetrics (4 courses - 8 hours)
Medical Malpractice Case Review Series: Emergency Medicine (18 Courses - 36 hours); 
Medical Legal: EMTALA Education (4 Courses - 26 hours); and 
Emergency Medicine (2 Courses - 4 hours).

Texas Medical Association Ethics CME
Last visited...11/2011
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...17 courses offering a total of 22 hours. 
Awarded by....Texas Medical Association.
Cost for Credit....$20 per credit (less for Texas physicians).
Instruction Type...Text-Only.
Target Audience ...General Interest.
Educational material last updated.... 2011.
Financial Support...None Stated.

17 courses on physicians' health and well being. Topics include: Communication Skills: Why Bother?; Coping With Stress in the Practice of Medicine; Depression and Suicide in Physicians; Ethical and Regulatory Aspects of Managing Patients with Pain; Ethical Considerations in Physician Aging and Retirement; Effective Strategies for Smoking Cessation; How to Create Balance in Your Life; How to Establish a Peer Assistance Committee; Joint Commission Standard Regarding Licensed Independent Practitioner Health; Maintenance of Professional Boundaries and Effective Management of Challenging Patient Encounters; Monitoring Physicians in Recovery; Psychiatric Illness and Disruptive Behavior in Physicians; Spirituality in Medicine; The Art and Science of Happiness; The Family In Addiction and Recovery and Women in Medicine: Contributions and Dilemmas. To apply for CME credit, print, complete, and mail a 10-item questionnaire along with payment.

Topics in Risk Management 3 (Practical Reviews)
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Format...Audio CD.
Credit hours...12.
Awarded by....Oakstone Medical Publishing.
Cost...........$169
Target Audiences...General Interest.
Educational material last updated...May 2010.
Financial Support...None Stated. 
Expiration of CME credit...June 2013.

Some of the essential topics covered in Topics in Risk Management 3 include:
• Never Events: Inexcusable Outcomes in Health Care;
• Professional Liability: Courtroom Perspectives of a Surgeon Defense Expert;
• Avoiding Malpractice Claims: Common Causes, Common Myths, and Common Sense;
• Medical Malpractice Insurance.

Tufts Health Care Institute
Last visited...June 2013.
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....Probably 2010.
Financial Support...Merck, Sanofi-Synthelabo.

A set of ten online courses in the area of Quality Care, Cost-Effectiveness and Care Management. 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. 
Ten courses are currently accredited; these include Definitions and Measurement of Quality; Quality Improvement Techniques; Quality Oversight in the Marketplace; Evidence-based Medicine; Referral Management; Professionalism in Medicine: The Fundamentals; Professionalism in Medicine: Implications for Practice, Parts 1 and 2;  Spine Imaging: Timing and Techniques for Lower Back Pain; and Outpatient Abdominal Imaging: Timing and Techniques for Diagnosis. An additional seven are in the process of reaccreditation.

University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...A single course:  Medical Ethics (2 credits).
Awarded by....University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
Cost...........$99.
Instruction Type....Text-Only.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educational material last updated...11/2009.
Financial Support...None Stated.
Expiration of CME Credit.....June 2013.

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 (or submit online).

Virtual Lecture Hall
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...19 programs offering a total of 90 credits.
Awarded by....Various medical schools and professional societies.
Cost for Credit.....$25 to access the site (includes 1 CME credit); additional credits for $25 per hour. 
Instruct. Type....Case-Based-Interactive.
Target Audiences....State-Mandated CME, Risk Management, Pain Management, Infection Control, Cultural Competence.
Educational material last updated...Ongoing.
Financial Support...Some programs developed with NIH grant support. Commercial support not accepted.

The Virtual Lecture Hall courses are designed to meet specific state CME mandates, but they also apply to all licensed physicians regardless of state of licensure. 
Examinations are not required for CME credit.
Find the Virtual Lecture Hall courses described in detail in alphabetical order by course name.
Find the Virtual Lecture Hall courses in State alphabetical order:
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Texas. 
Find the Virtual Lecture Hall courses in order by groups of required topics:
• End of Life-Palliative Care; • Ethics; • HIV-AIDS; • Infection Control; • Infectious Diseases; • Medical Errors; • Modes of Transmission; • Patient Communications; 
• Patient Safety; • Prescribing Practices; • Professional Responsibility; and • Risk Management.

WebM&M (Morbidity and Mortality Rounds on the Web) Cases and Commentaries
Last visited...June 2013.
Reviewed by...Bernard Sklar, MD.
Credit hours...25.
Awarded by....AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research).
Cost for Credit.....Free.
Instruction Type....Text-Only.
Target Audiences....General Interest.
Educational material last updated...2011.
Financial Support...US Government.

Most presentations illustrate physician, nursing or pharmacist errors and focus on the prevention of such errors. Some recent cases include: 
• Near Miss with Bedside Medications; 
• Mobility Lost in ICU; 
• The Safety and Quality of Long Term Care; 
• Watch the Warfarin;
• The ECG is not Normal;
• Duty to Disclose Someone Else’s Error;
• Volume Too Low: In and Out;
• One Toxic Drug Is Not Like Another;
• The Forgotten Turn; and
• Treatment Challenges after Discharge.