CME Outfitters (CMEO) Announces Expansion of Educational Initiative Addressing Unconscious Bias and Disparities in Healthcare

An unrestricted educational grant from the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies will enable CMEO to build upon the success of a health equity initiative launched in 2021 and allow expansion into new therapeutic areas

RADNOR, Pa., Oct. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- CME Outfitters, (CMEO) a leading accredited provider of continuing education, today announced that the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies will continue its support of a nationwide initiative to educate the entire healthcare team on unconscious bias, health equity and healthcare disparities. Pre- and post-test learner data from two key activities resulted in knowledge gains from 50% to 61% in maternal health and cardiology related to recognizing unconscious bias and rates of disparities in care. Even more impactful is that all of the thousands of learners who have participated in these educational activities to date have reported they are committed to implementing strategies and actionable steps to combat biases, improve equity in health care, and eliminate disparities in their practices.

These educational activities are part of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies' ongoing commitment to invest in and promote health equity solutions and improve outcomes among all patients, focusing on underserved and marginalized populations.

The initiative is led by Monica Peek, MD, MPH, MS, the Ellen H. Block Professor of Health Justice in the Department of Medicine at the University of Chicago, where she also serves as an Associate Director of the Chicago Center for Diabetes Translation Research and the Director of Research for the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. This expanded series will add six new therapeutic areas and over 20 new activities, bringing the total to more than 40 individual activities with countless links to downloadable tools, and online resources for both patients and providers. All activities and tools will be available on the CMEO Diversity & Inclusion Education Hub for a period of three years.

"I am incredibly proud of the progress we made in 2021 addressing these important topics, as they are historically under-represented in medical education," said Dr. Peek. "I don't know of any other group that has the depth and breadth of programs in this area as the curriculum we have created. We have reached thousands of healthcare professionals and we are making a real impact." 

CMEO recently launched the first element of the expansion: the Diversity & Inclusion Oncology Education Center, focusing on multiple myeloma, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and skin cancer and providing education, resources and tools for both patients and providers.

CMEO has a team dedicated to researching real-time patient issues and concerns when it comes to how they experience bias in the healthcare system. They use social and AI-powered tools to measure both patient and provider sentiment and identify emerging topics to inform the content they develop for initiative. While racial  disparities are not new, staying on top of how care is evolving is a key component of the success of this program, ensuring its timeliness, relevance and ultimately, its potential impact on patient outcomes. 

"Changing deeply ingrained attitudes and practices in our healthcare system is an enormous task that will require a sustained effort," said Shari Tordoff, Executive Vice President of CME Outfitters. "We are honored to expand our curriculum of activities with the generous support of the Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies. We are very passionate about this work, and the qualitative and quantitative educational outcomes data from the initiative  are amazing and demonstrate that we are doing the right thing."

Learners who complete three or more activities will also be eligible for a Certificate of Excellence and a digital badge to show their commitment to addressing unconscious bias, disparities, and inequities in healthcare.

CME Outfitters develops, distributes and certifies continuing education activities that focus on the integration of the interdisciplinary care team to ensure the best care of patients. CME Outfitters' educational interventions include interactive webcasts, live symposia, medical simulations, clinical case series and other innovative formats that leverage the latest in technology to optimize the learning environment and promote clinician and patient behavior changes. CME Outfitters also offers expert accreditation, outcome and logistics services for non-accredited organizations. In July of 2020, CME Outfitters became part of KnowFully Learning Group.  For more information, visit www.cmeoutfitters.com.

The KnowFully Learning Group provides continuing professional education, exam preparation courses and education resources to the accounting, finance and healthcare sectors. KnowFully's suite of learning solutions helps learners become credentialed, satisfy required credit hours to maintain credentials, and stay informed on the latest trends and critical changes in their industries over the course of their careers. The company provides exam preparation and continuing education for accounting, finance, and tax professionals under the Surgent Accounting & Financial Education brand. KnowFully's healthcare education brands include CME Outfitters, CE Concepts, PharmCon, The Rx Consultant, ChiroCredit, IA Med, EMT & Fire Training Inc., Psychotherapy.net, and American Fitness Professionals & Associates. For more information, please visit http://www.KnowFully.com.

SOURCE CME Outfitters, LLC