Online Training Course Focuses on Specific Interventions to Improve Healthcare Safety

EVANSTON, Ill. - Jan. 23, 2007 - In an effort to educate physicians on ways to enhance patient safety in clinical or hospital settings, American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) announces the development of ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program, an online course available to certified physicians from all 24 ABMS Member Boards that provides essential knowledge about safety and how to apply the skills learned in their own environment. Physicians completing the program receive Continuing Medical Education credit. In addition, the course will satisfy Maintenance of Certification requirements for practicing and non-practicing physicians based on each ABMS Member Board’s criteria.

The ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program concentrates on achieving sustained and measurable improvement or elimination of some of the most prevalent patient safety problems. The program will provide an educational experience that incorporates key patient safety topics, methods of assessment, case scenarios as learning examples and improvement activities for individual physician practices. Incorporating measurement distinguishes this module from existing online educational modules for clinicians. The course utilizes best practices in online instructional design, resulting in an engaging interactive learning experience appealing to a wide variety of learning styles.

Development of the ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program’s learning modules was guided by an advisory committee of nationally-recognized subject matter experts in patient safety and quality improvement. An early version of the program has been demonstrated and widely accepted by the General Assembly of ABMS and by attendees at a recent conference, Assessing and Improving Patient Care, sponsored by ABMS and Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. The program is expected to be available to physicians in the spring of 2007

Course modules follow a sequenced approach, introducing topics, assessment skills and improvement activities using patient data that help physicians incorporate the concepts in their practices. These include:

• Patient Safety Scenarios highlight key themes of patient safety that all physicians can relate to and use – regardless of specialty level or patient contact
• Patient Safety Curriculum presents learning strategies for dealing with errors and adverse events in medical settings using themed examples from areas of national concern
• Quality Improvement Fundamentals provides information about how to identify areas for change and incorporate quality improvement measures in any practice type or clinical setting
• Patient Safety Improvement Activities guide physicians through the process of applying the concepts, methods and tools learned to improve patient safety in their own environment

“In an era of increased scrutiny of our healthcare system and the provision of quality care, this program provides the tools and resources for physicians to make a marked improvement in patient care,” said Stephen H. Miller, MD, MPH, president and chief executive officer of ABMS. “The focal points of the program reflect the efforts of our world community to ensure that safe, high-quality care is not a random occurrence, but an everyday event.”
The focal points of the ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program align directly with the initiatives identified in the Action on Patient Safety High 5s Project, a seven-country collaborative effort coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Patient Safety (Solutions), which is led by The Joint Commission and its affiliate Joint Commission International.  The collaborative’s charter, much like that of ABMS, is to implement solutions for the prevention of avoidable patient safety problems.

For more information about the ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program or a demonstration, call (312) 436-2600.

About ABMS
The American Board of Medical Specialties is the preeminent medical organization overseeing physician certification in the United States. It assists its 24 Member Boards in their efforts to develop and implement educational and professional standards for the evaluation and certification of physician specialists. ABMS Member Boards provide physician certification information to ABMS for its certification verification service programs. ABMS is recognized by the key healthcare credentialing accreditation entities as a primary equivalent source of board certification data for medical specialists. Visit www.abms.org or call (312) 436-2600.