SOURCE: Medical Directions Inc.

Tucson, Arizona, September 10, 2009: Medical Directions, Inc. (MDI), a leading innovator in online continuing medical education (CME), today announced the results of a 2-year collaboration with the Blue Shield of California Foundation to provide free online intimate partner violence (IPV) CME to California physicians. The company was able to educate 1,869 physicians over a 2-year period. Overall physician satisfaction with the program was high as was physician self-reported likelihood to change practice based on the CME program.

MDI examined the advertising costs of attracting California physicians to the free online IPV CME program, which is not a mandated CME topic in California. The company reported a direct marketing cost of $75 per physician user.

Although the use of online CME by practicing physicians is growing rapidly, there are few reports on the effectiveness of reaching physicians with specific messages and no reports on the costs of such efforts. This new information suggests that online CME can be a cost-effective education strategy. John Harris Jr., MD, the lead author of the report and President of MDI noted that, "hospitals and public health agencies currently provide free online CME in areas such as substance abuse and bioterrorism, but we don't know if these programs actually reach anyone or how much they cost. Hopefully these new data will provide a reference point and encourage publicly-funded organizations to be forthcoming about their experience."

The study results were reported in the September, 2009 issue of The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions.

About MDI - MDI is a privately held company that works with academic medical centers, professional organizations, and government agencies to develop, evaluate, and distribute online education programs for health professionals. For more information, please visit www.md-inc.com.

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