Health Education Leaders Launch Continuing Medical Education for Clinicians in Digital Medicine

The curriculum will train current and future clinicians on how to incorporate digital medicine in clinical care and practice

BOSTON, April 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Digital Medicine Society (DiMe), Rocky Vista University (RVU) College of Medicine, and the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) launched a new library of continuing medical education (CME) courses as foundational education for practicing clinicians to learn how to effectively and efficiently leverage new digital approaches to caring for their patients. The Digital Health CME Certificate consists of eight modules on digital health, which clinicians can now sign up for here.

"As digital medicine rapidly progresses towards becoming just plain medicine, a knowledge gap has emerged amongst our healthcare professionals. A new set of skills is required to deliver this new form of care, and we feel a responsibility to deploy this knowledge," says Smit Patel, Innovation Lead at DiMe. "Our hope is that this program will educate and encourage current and future healthcare professionals to embrace digital medicine, bring new advantages to the profession, and - ultimately - help reshape healthcare to work better for patients and clinicians."

To create the content and curriculum for the CME, DiMe guided and oversaw the direction of the work, which was then completed by RVU's Digital Health Track medical students and reviewed by RVU faculty members. ACOFP, a professional medical association that represents more than 18,000 practicing osteopathic family physicians, residents and students throughout the U.S., led the accreditation and hosts the courses on their platform. The eight modules consist of:

1. Introduction to digital health
2. Evaluative frameworks for selecting technology for patients and clinics
3. Best practices for telemedicine
4. Artificial intelligence in healthcare
5. Integrating digital health technologies into clinical care
6. Patient advocacy in digital health
7. Consumer health informatics
8. Health equity and ethics in the digital age

"There is a reason we chose this as DiMe's first foray into the educational space. We specifically wanted to partner with future providers to define what good looks like for the future of clinical care," says Jennifer Goldsack, CEO of DiMe. "As the first osteopathic medical school in the U.S. to incorporate a Digital Health Track (DHT) in medical education, RVU was the perfect partner for this project."

"In hopes of improving patient safety and health outcomes during the rapidly expanding digital era, a collection of innovative continuing medical education modules was crafted in partnership with the Digital Medicine Society. Each module is aimed at improving the physician's comfort with complex concepts such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and other various novel implications emerging in digital health," says Danica Cecil Ujano, RVU Osteopathic Medical Student II.

"The COVID-19 pandemic shed a light on the need for physicians to adapt to telemedicine, and while we have come so far, there is more to learn in this space," says ACOFP President Bruce R. Williams, DO, FACOFP. "Digital health is the future of medicine, and this certificate program will take us one step further in reimagining healthcare delivery and meeting the needs of our patients as they evolve."

While education has always been a core DiMe activity, this is the non-profit organization's first foray into developing and offering a formal educational course. DiMe is currently working on another course offering, to be announced later this year, that will help educate the field, across audiences, to make advancements in digital medicine possible. To learn more about the Digital Health CME course/program, click here.

About the Digital Medicine Society: The Digital Medicine Society (DiMe) is the professional society serving the digital medicine community, driving scientific progress and broad acceptance of digital medicine to enhance public health. At DiMe, our commitment to fully integrating experts from all of the disciplines comprising digital medicine is unwavering. From regulators to white-hat hackers, ethicists to engineers, and clinicians to citizen scientists, we are proud to welcome all experts committed to ensuring that digital medicine realizes its full potential to improve human health. Join us!

About Rocky Vista University (RVU):
RVU is a health-sciences university based in Parker, Colorado and Ivins, Utah. RVU was founded in 2006 and opened its doors in August of 2008, enrolling students in its four-year program of study leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree in the University's College of Osteopathic Medicine (RVUCOM). The Ivins Campus matriculated its first class in 2017. RVU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a commission of the North Central Association. RVUCOM is accredited by the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA). RVU has also added a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences (MSBS) degree program and a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) to its Colorado location. Rocky Vista University provides quality healthcare education while inspiring students to serve with compassion, integrity and excellence. For more information, visit www.rvu.edu.

About American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP):
Founded in 1950, the American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians (ACOFP) is a community of more than 18,000 current and future family physicians that champions osteopathic principles and supports its members by providing resources such as education, networking and advocacy, while putting patients first. ACOFP empowers its members with education and resources that allow them to adapt to new models of care and quickly changing government policy. For more information, visit www.acofp.org.

Media Contact: Jamie Gray, [email protected]

SOURCE Digital Medicine Society (DiMe)