Improved rural provider access to continuing medical education through interactive videoconferencing

We sought to describe use patterns and user evaluation of remotely-attended continuing medical education (CME) programs in Vermont and upstate New Yor k. Remote attendees were required to return an evaluation form to receive C ME credit. The form included name and date of the program; name, location, and specialty of the respondent; and questions regarding program quality, v alue, effectiveness, and attendee plans if the program had not been availab le via telemedicine. From April, 1996, through December, 1998, health care providers from 14 remote sites used the network 927 times to attend 394 CME programs at Fletcher Alien Health Care in Burlington, Vermont. After the s tart-up period, an average of over three programs per week was attended, wi th an average of 2.4 remote attendees per program. Seventy-seven percent of remote attendees stated that they would not have attended the program if i t had not been available over telemedicine, while the remaining 23% said th at they avoided traveling due to videoconferencing. When asked the effectiv eness of telemedicine technology for attending, 73% said it was as effectiv e as having the presenter in the room, 23% said it was less effective, and 4% said it was more effective. Major technical problems, such as having the call disconnect during the presentation, decreased over time. There were c ontinuing minor logistical problems common to large group videoconferencing . The telemedicine system has increased availability of CME programs for ru ral providers in Vermont and upstate New York. Most attendees have found th e programs to be worthwhile, and technological advancements have improved t he quality of the system.