Online Education for Improving Communication and Documentation of Dietary Supplements Among Health Professionals Practicing in a Hospital Setting.
BACKGROUND
Little is known about the feasibility of online education in improving communication and documentation of dietary supplements (DS) among clinicians.


METHODS
This prospective educational study included clinicians at an urban teaching hospital. The curriculum included video streams, didactics, and interactive case presentations to discuss (1) DS safety and effectiveness, (2) cultural competency, (3) managing DS in a hospital setting, and (4) DS adverse events. Participants were surveyed, at baseline and after training, about DS knowledge, confidence, communication, and documentation practices.


RESULTS
Thirty-nine of 61 (64%) recruited clinicians completed all four patient cases and post-tests. Most (82%) were women and 59% were physicians. The mean DS knowledge test score increased after the curriculum (p < 0.0001), and the clinician confidence score also increased (p < 0.0001). Most (82%) participants reported that curriculum changed their use of evidence-based resources (p = 0.01). There was a change in the indications for symptom management (p = 0.05) and gastrointestinal/digestive health issues (p = 0.03). There were statistically significant increases in the frequency of asking patients about DS use during discharge (p = 0.01), and 82% responded that the curriculum changed their DS documentation.


CONCLUSIONS
An online curriculum is an effective tool for presenting DS education to clinicians with the goal of improving clinicians' knowledge, confidence, and documentation practices about DS.
1 Department of Family Medicine, Boston University Medical Center , Boston, MA.
Paula
P
Gardiner
1 Department of Family Medicine, Boston University Medical Center , Boston, MA.
Amanda C
AC
Filippelli
2 Information Technology-Application Service, Boston University School of Medicine , Boston, MA.
Karim
K
Kabbara
3 Department of Medicine, University of California at San Diego , San Diego, CA.
Steven C
SC
Lin
4 Department of Research and Evaluation, Kaiser Permanente , Pasadena, CA.
Ekaterina
E
Sadikova
5 Division of General Medicine and Primary Care, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA.
Ted J
TJ
Kaptchuk
6 Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University College of Medicine , Columbus, OH.
Kathi
K
Kemper
D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D054521:Cultural Competency; D003479:Curriculum; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004282:Documentation; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000193:education*; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010820:Physicians; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult