An Overview of Continuing Medical Education/Continuing Professional Development Systems in Latin America: A Mixed Methods Assessment.

The aims of this regional assessment of continuing medical education (CME)/continuing professional development (CPD) systems in Latin America were to describe the current requirements, if any, for physicians to engage in CME/CPD, explore perceptions of national CME/CPD systems from in-country subject matter experts (SMEs), to describe the perceptions of interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) and independent CME/CPD from in-country physicians and to provide recommendations that may be adopted by organisations/countries to improve the quality and effectiveness of their current CME/CPD systems and better meet their learners' needs. An assessment of 11 CME/CPD systems in Latin America was conducted using a mixed-methods approach that included 1:1 interviews with in-country SMEs and an electronic survey capturing qualitative and quantitative data from practicing in-country physicians. This assessment reflected countries with CME/CPD systems that are in various stages of maturity.

An overview of global CME/CPD systems.

Purpose: Engagement in CME/CPD has a positive impact on healthcare professionals' (HCPs) knowledge, skills, and performance, and on patient outcomes, therefore it is critical to better understand the components of CME/CPD systems that foster engagement, high-quality education, and impact.

Methods: An assessment of CME/CPD systems was conducted using a mixed-methods approach that included interviews with in-country subject matter experts and qualitative and quantitative data from practicing in-country physicians.

Results: Results demonstrate areas of consistency in CME/CPD systems across world regions that included: types of educational providers; types of credit; educational formats; self-tracking of participation; high-degree of compliance when education is mandatory; overall satisfaction with available education; strong support for interprofessional education; and lack of alignment or evaluation of engagement in education with population health outcomes.