iMD — Your Full-Service Performance Improvement Partner
Intelligent Medical Decisions, Inc. provides
full-service performance improvement solutions to help your
educational initiatives achieve higher outcomes levels.
iMD has over 20 years experience in medical education, clinical research studies and data collection and
analysis making us uniquely qualified to help you integrate objective and independent PI CME programs in
any therapeutic area.
iMD offers unparalleled services to assist you in all phases of a PI CME outcomes study
Grant Development:
Intelligent Medical Decisions, Inc. understands that a
successful PI-CME initiative involves close collaboration
with our educational partners from start to finish. Our
team is prepared to assist with all phases of developing a
successful educational initiative with a PI-CME component.
The iMD leadership team collaborates with a large network
of thought leaders, consultants, writers, and industry
professionals, with the goal of improving patient care by
helping you implement educational initiatives and PI-CME
programs that provide healthcare professionals with
relevant information to their day-to-day practice.
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PI Study Design:
Mobile Medical Outcomes™ adheres to study designs that
satisfy the AMA Council on Medical Education’s rules
governing how PI activities are designated for CME credit,
and participants completing an entire PI initiative are
eligi ble to receive 20 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™.
Although this is the current standard per the AMA, Mobile Medical Outcomes™ can be customized for any outcomes
study.
The PI-CME process consists of three stages (Stages A,
B, C listed below), all of which need to be completed to
earn 20 credits; 5 credits will be awarded for successful
completion of each stage, and an additional 5 credits will
be awarded for completion of all three stages.
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Stage A: Learning from Current Practice Performance
Assessment — “Assess current practice using
identified performance measures, either through
chart reviews or some other appropriate
mechanism.”
- In Stage A, physicians will use the
pre-programmed iPod touch device at the point
of care to enter outcomes data in the
appropriate patient group.
- Collected outcomes data will be analyzed by
faculty involved in the instructional design of
the educational initiative, and a report will
be generated for each participant.
-
Stage B: Learning from the Application of
Performance Improvement to Patient Care —
“Implement an intervention based on the
performance measures selected in Stage A, using
suitable tracking tools”
- In Stage B, participants will receive
guidance from faculty involved in the
instructional design of the educational
initiative on applying educational
interventions and assessing performance change
specific to the outcomes measures analyzed in
Stage A.
- Participants will use the Mobile Medical Outcomes™ Mentor Program to pose
point-of-care questions to a select group
faculty mentors
- Mentors will review questions and guide PI
participants to appropriate educational
interventions based on the participant’s
self-identified performance barriers
-
Stage C: Learning from the Evaluation of the
Performance Improvement Effort —
“Re-evaluate and reflect on performance in
practice (Stage B) by comparing to the assessment
done in Stage A”
- In Stage C, participants will collect
point-of-care outcomes data on another group of
patients to assess the effectiveness of
directed educational interventions on
performance measures.
- Through the Mobile Medical Outcomes™
platform a report will be generated for the PI
participant to compare outcomes measures
collected from Stage A to those collected from
Stage C.
- Participants will complete a survey
evaluating their experience during the PI
program. This survey will collect a short
narrative describing the participant’s
assessment of the success of the directed
intervention(s) from Stage B, and any other
reflections on why or why not the
intervention(s) had an impact on patient
care.
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Physician Recruitment:
Enrolling the appropriate group of physicians is a
crucial step in a success PI-CME initiative. Intelligent
Medical Decisions, Inc. will develop surveys to assess the
potential participants’ scope of practice, commitment
to participation, and also to identify educational gaps and
practice barriers.
Eligible physician participants must meet the following
criteria:
- Have access to a computer compatible with iPod
touch software and a wireless internet connection
- Have the ability to attend a virtual training
meeting on study protocols and data collection
procedures
- Have the willingness to fully complete all forms
and surveys, and collect outcomes data per the study
protocol
Physicians who are selected to participate in a
performance improvement initiative will submit disclosure
forms, consent forms, and a signed contract with the
obligations of participation. Each participant will receive
an iPod touch device for the duration of the study to
record patient data at the point of care. At the end of the
study, participating physicians will return the iPod touch
devices or have the opportunity to purchase them.
Participants may use their own iPod touch or iPhone if so
desired.
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Physician Training and Support:
Participants who enroll in a PI-CME initiative will be
fully trained by iMD staff on study protocol and use of the
iPod touch devices. Training programs are available for
both live meetings and virtual settings, and training
modules are available for the participants to train their
office staff in data collection procedures, where
appropriate. iMD will also provide technical support for
the iPod touch devices and wireless access. Throughout the
course of the PI-CME program, iMD staff will be in constant
contact with the PI participants to ensure protocol
adherence and participant follow-through.
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Protocol Management
During a Mobile Medical Outcomes™ PI program iMD will
manage every aspect of the study protocol, including participant
coordination, data auditing, and support for participants
with questions about the study protocol.
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Technology Integration
Advances in information technology keep pace with advances
in medicine, and are often synergistic. Today, more than ever,
healthcare professionals rely on technology in very unique and
beneficial ways. Intelligent Medical Decisions, Inc. is on the
forefront of incorporating new technology into the healthcare field.
Our expertise in mobile technology, web-based technology, e-learning
systems and electronic data capture allows for integration of
technology into any educational initiative.
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Data Collection and Analysis:
Physicians or trained office staff will use the iPod
touch devices to record outcomes data at the point of care.
The data will be securely uploaded to a central database
via the Mobile Medical Outcomes™ platform and subsequently
checked and edited to identify ambiguous entries.
Intelligent Medical Decisions, Inc. will be responsible for
resolution of data queries, data auditing, and analysis.
The appropriate number of physicians, patients and outcomes
metrics will be used in order to provide sufficient
statistical power for the analyses based on linear and
logistic regressions. In some cases, physicians may ask
patients to collect demographics data to identify trends in
adherence and physician practice location.
The analyses will include the use of descriptive
statistics and prevalence rates with 95% confidence
intervals. The main research questions will be addressed
using correlation and linear regression (for continuous
variables) and logistic regression (where the dependent
variable is dichotomous); contingency tables and chi-square
(for dichotomous variables) and some non-parametric tests
such as the Spearman’s rank coefficient (where the
relationship between ranked or ordinal variables is being
investigated). Adjustments for covariates like patient age
and gender will be made. The final data analysis will be
made available 6-8 weeks after completion of a PI-CME
initiative.
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Participant Follow-up
The success of a Mobile Medical Outcomes™ PI program
depends on participants involvement throughout the entire
PI outcomes activity. iMD ensures high participant retention
and compliance by staying in close touch with participants
from the start to the finish of the study. iMD keeps
participants informed of data entry schedules, timing of
educational interventions, and of opportunities to participate
in and view responses from the “Ask a Mentor™” forum.
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