Continuing Medical Education for Omega-3 is proving helpful – Nov 2019

Improving Appropriate Use of Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Primary Care: Success of Online CME

American Heart Association's 2019 Conferencer; Circulation. 2019;140:A16351
Jelena Spyropoulos, George Boutsalis. David Anderson, all Medscape Education, New York, NY

Introduction: Clinical trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid ethyl ester (EPA) on triglyceride (TG) lowering and on cardiovascular (CV) risk reduction, however, many clinicians have limited understanding of the effects of EPA and limited experience using EPA to reduce the risk of CV disease.

Hypothesis: To determine if an online continuing medical education (CME) intervention could improve knowledge and competence of primary care physicians (PCPs) and cardiologists related to the role of EPA in management of CV risk.

Methods: The intervention comprised a curriculum of 2 online video-based, roundtable discussion CME activities. The effects of education were assessed for learners completing all 4 pre- and post-assessment questions for each activity, using a matched pre/post-assessment design, with participants serving as their own controls. For all questions combined, the McNemar’s chi-square test assessed differences from pre- to post-assessment. P values are shown as a measure of significance.

Results: Overall, significant improvements were seen after education for both PCPs (N=2036) and cardiologists (N=641):

• 1) PCPs: 23% relative improvement; (44% pre-education vs 54% post education; P<.001);
• 2) Cardiologists: 15% relative improvement (47% vs 54%; P<.001).

Matched leaner data indicate that:
PCPs:

• 34% improved their knowledge as a result of participating in the activities while
• 42% had their knowledge reinforced;
• 24% were unaffected;

Cardiologists:

• 28% improved their knowledge as a result of participating in the activities while
• 61% had their knowledge reinforced;
• 21% were unaffected.

Among only those learners who had their knowledge/competence reinforced or improved, there was a significant 24% relative increase in confidence in appropriate use of EPA for PCPs (n=1550, P<.001) and a 19% increase for cardiologists (n=506; P<0.001).

Conclusions: The statistically significant improvements observed in this online CME intervention demonstrate the benefits of educating the appropriate target audience base, suggesting that this type of intervention can translate into improvements in clinical care.