ECRI Institute Adds New Interactive Flash Courses to Online CME Program: Interactive Courses Expand Learning on Critical Patient Safety and Risk Management Topics

PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa., March 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- ECRI Institute® (www.ecri.org), an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, announces the addition of interactive Flash-based courses to its online continuing medical education (CME) program, e-Learn™. e-Learn's catalog of over 100 patient safety and risk management courses for healthcare professionals is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).

These new interactive CME courses on communication, culture of safety, and informed consent use evidence-based adult learning and online design principles to help learners apply course content to their existing practices. Features of these courses include:

• Text and audio learning options
• Embedded learning objectives to help the learner target essential information quickly
• Reflective activities that help learners relate the lesson content to their current practices
• Writing exercises to help learners assimilate and apply new knowledge within their current practices

"These interactive courses apply evidence-based design principles to help learners quickly and efficiently master content," says Karen Holloway, ECRI Institute's Senior Instructional Designer, Center for Education and Training. "Presentations are written using a first-person perspective to increase interest and comprehension, and activities and tests include targeted feedback to make it easy for the learner to identify and address knowledge gaps."

These courses will help healthcare entities meet accreditation and regulatory requirements for staff education related specifically to patient safety and risk management issues. These courses provide an in-depth review of issues related to communication, culture of safety, and informed consent—issues that are at the root of many adverse events and that affect patient care at all levels. These multi-part courses allow physicians to earn up to 18.75 CME credits. e-Learn's full catalog offers over 90 credits of course work.

ECRI Institute is accredited by ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The ECRI Institute designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For more information about ECRI Institute's e-Learn, visit www.ecri.org/e-learn, contact [email protected], or call (610) 825-6000, ext. 5891. For medical malpractice insurance carriers or discounts on bulk orders, contact Sharon Murphy by phone at (610) 825-6000, ext. 5145; by e-mail at [email protected]; or by mail at ECRI Institute, 5200 Butler Pike, Plymouth Meeting, PA 19462-1298, USA.

ECRI Institute (www.ecri.org), a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to discover which medical procedures, devices, drugs, and processes are best to enable improved patient care. As pioneers in this science for more than 40 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. Strict conflict-of-interest guidelines ensure objectivity. ECRI Institute is designated as a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization and an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. ECRI Institute PSO, listed as a federally certified Patient Safety Organization by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, strives to achieve the highest levels of safety and quality in healthcare by collecting and analyzing patient safety information and sharing lessons learned and best practices.

SOURCE ECRI Institute