Impact of a Performance Improvement CME activity on the care and treatment of patients with psoriasis

BackgroundThe Performance Improvement (PI) CME format improves physician performance in other specialties but data are lacking in dermatology.ObjectiveWe sought to assess the impact of a PI CME activity on physician practice patterns for patients with psoriasis, which was developed, implemented, and evaluated by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), in part to assist dermatologists in fulfilling Part IV of their Maintenance of Certification requirements.MethodsIn this PI CME activity, participants: (1) self-audited patient charts, which met inclusion criteria in stage A, and reflected on their results, benchmarked against peers; (2) reviewed educational materials in stage B and developed an improvement plan; and (3) self-audited a different set of patient charts following the plan's implementation. Aggregate stage A and C data were analyzed using χ2 tests.ResultsWe found a statistically significant improvement in the advisement of patients with psoriasis regarding their increased risk for cardiovascular disease, to contact their primary care provider for cardiovascular risk assessment, and in shared decision making regarding the treatment plan. We also found an overall statistically significant improvement in history taking per the guidelines.LimitationsLearner chart selection bias, self-reporting of chart data, and lack of a control group are limitations.ConclusionsThe AAD psoriasis PI CME activity demonstrated significantly improved dermatologists' documentation of patient's history, counseling of patients for lifestyle behaviors, and shared decision making.