ACCME Data Report Shows Growth and Evolution of Accredited CME

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) is pleased to release the ACCME Data Report: Growth and Evolution in Continuing Medical Education — 2016. The report includes data from a community of more than 1,800 accredited continuing medical education (CME) providers that offer physicians and healthcare teams an array of resources to promote quality, safety, and the evolution of healthcare.

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Key Takeaways – A Vibrant, Growing Community

• More than 1,800 accredited CME providers offered close to 159,000 educational activities in 2016.
• This education comprised more than 1 million hours of instruction and included interactions with 27 million healthcare professionals.
• Since 2015, the number of educational events have increased 7%, hours of instruction increased by 9%, and interactions with clinicians grew 5%.
• The number of activities and interactions have increased each year since 2010, despite some consolidation among CME providers.
• The numbers of physician interactions have increased over the years or remained fairly stable. The number of interactions with nonphysician healthcare professionals such as nurses, physician assistants, and pharmacists shows steady growth.

Accredited CME providers represent a range of organizations from national physician membership organizations to rural hospitals. Some specialize in local, community-based health issues, others focus on national and international health priorities, and others advance interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) and team-based care. The ACCME recently began accrediting organizations outside the US, and this report includes their data as well.
 
The geographic distribution and diversity of CME providers means that clinicians and teams have access to education where they live and work that addresses local, national, and international healthcare priorities.
 
“Every day, across the country, clinicians can choose from more than 3,000 hours of accredited CME. Accredited CME is a tremendous resource — offering clinicians, educators, and health leaders the power and capacity to address many of the challenges we face in our changing healthcare environment,” said Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, ACCME.
 
Hear more from Dr. McMahon about the report in this brief video.
 
About the Data Report
 
Each year, accredited organizations within the ACCME System submit data describing their individual CME activities and overall CME programs. The ACCME aggregates this information to give a view of the year and analyzes current and previous years’ data to identify long-range trends. Since 1999, the ACCME has produced annual data reports as a service to educators, learners, and other healthcare stakeholders.
 
ACCME Data Report and Supplementary Resources

• ACCME 2016 Data Report Introduction: Video Commentary with Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, ACCME.
• ACCME Data Report: Growth and Evolution in Continuing Medical Education — 2016: PDF including aggregated statistics and trends analysis for all providers accredited in the ACCME System.
• ACCME Data Report 2016 — Tables in Excel
• ACCME Data Report Addendum – 2016: PDF including separate data sets for state-accredited providers and ACCME-accredited/jointly accredited providers.
• ACCME Data Report Addendum-2016 — Tables in Excel

 
Media inquiries
 
Tamar Hosansky
312-245-4066
thosansky@accme.org
 
Patty Harrison
312-245-4054
pharrison@accme.org
 
Other inquiries
info@accme.org

View this news release on the ACCME website