The DOI matches its Crossref record; 28 of the 28 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
The Impact of CME on Physician Performance and Patient Health Outcomes: An Updated Synthesis of Systematic Reviews
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Since 1977, many systematic reviews have asked 2 fundamental questions: (1) Does CME improve physician performance and patient health outcomes? and (2) What are the mechanisms of action that lead to positive changes in these outcomes? The article's purpose is to synthesize the systematic review literature about CME effectiveness published since 2003. METHODS: We identified 8 systematic reviews of CME effectiveness published since 2003 in which primary research studies in CME were reviewed and physicians' performance and/or patient health outcomes were included as outcome measures. RESULTS: Five systematic reviews addressed the question of "Is CME Effective?" using primary studies employing randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or experimental design methods and concluded: (1) CME does improve physician performance and patient health outcomes, and (2) CME has a more reliably positive impact on physician performance than on patient health outcomes. The 8 systematic reviews support previous research showing CME activities that are more interactive, use more methods, involve multiple exposures, are longer, and are focused on outcomes that are considered important by physicians lead to more positive outcomes. DISCUSSION: Future research on CME effectiveness must take account of the wider social, political, and organizational factors that play a role in physician performance and patient health outcomes. We now have 39 systematic reviews that present an evidence-based approach to designing CME that is more likely to improve physician performance and patient health outcomes. These insights from the scientific study of CME effectiveness should be incorporated in ongoing efforts to reform systems of CME and health care delivery.
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“Although mandatory continuing professional development is an approach that is used widely by professional regulators globally, existing evidence about the design and outcomes of CCPs is mixed [18,247–251].”
From Nursing regulation in Canada: Insights from a scoping review (2025) · cites this paper as [249]
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Cites
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Clinical Practice Guidelines for Pain Management in Acute Musculoskeletal Injury
Hsu, J. R., Mir, H. R., Wally, M. K., & Seymour, R. B. (2019) · Journal of Orthopaedic Trauma · doi:10.1097/bot.0000000000001430 · Cited by 297
Samuel, A., Cervero, R. M., Durning, S. J., & Maggio, L. A. (2021) · Academic Medicine · doi:10.1097/acm.0000000000003899 · Cited by 147
Self-citationCategorising the broad impacts of continuing professional development: a scoping review
Allen, L., Palermo, C. E., Armstrong, E. G., & Hay, M. (2019) · Medical Education · doi:10.1111/medu.13922 · Cited by 142
Saunders, C., Palesy, D., & Lewis, J. M. (2018) · Health Professions Education · doi:10.1016/j.hpe.2018.03.003 · Cited by 133
Making it stick: use of active learning strategies in continuing medical education
Bucklin, B. A., Asdigian, N. L., Hawkins, J. L., & Klein, U. (2021) · BMC Medical Education · doi:10.1186/s12909-020-02447-0 · Cited by 114
Metadata
- Authors
- Cervero, R. M., & Gaines, J. K.
- Affiliations
- University of Georgia (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cervero, Ronald M.
- Venue
- Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions
- Published
- 2015
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 131-138
- ISSN
- 0894-1912 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1811132532
- Cited by
- 515
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 50 · 2025: 50 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 54 · 2022: 61 · 2021: 62 · 2020: 54 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 31 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 7
- FWCI
- 4.27
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Innovations in Medical Education
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Sciences Research and Education
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Human Resource Development and Performance Evaluation
- Keywords
- continuing medical education, physician performance, patient outcomes, mechanism of action, interactive learning
- MeSH terms
- Clinical Competence, Education, Medical, Continuing, Humans, Practice Patterns, Physicians', Quality of Health Care, Quality Improvement
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