title: Continuing Medical Education Improves Gastroenterologists' Compliance with Inflammatory Bowel Disease Quality Measures.
abstract: Low rates of compliance with quality measures for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been reported for US gastroenterologists.
  
  
  
  We assessed the influence of quality improvement (QI) education on compliance with physician quality reporting system (PQRS) measures for IBD and measures related to National Quality Strategy (NQS) priorities.
  
  
  
  Forty community-based gastroenterologists participated in the QI study; 20 were assigned to educational intervention and control groups, respectively. At baseline, randomly selected charts of patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis were retrospectively reviewed for the gastroenterologists' performance of 8 PQRS IBD measures and 4 NQS-related measures. The intervention group participated in a series of accredited continuing medical education (CME) activities focusing on QI. Follow-up chart reviews were conducted 6 months after the CME activities. Independent t tests were conducted to compare between-group differences in baseline-to-follow-up rates of documented compliance with each measure.
  
  
  
  The analysis included 299 baseline charts and 300 follow-up charts. The intervention group had significantly greater magnitudes of improvement than the control group for the following measures: assessment of IBD type, location, and activity (+14 %, p = 0.009); influenza vaccination (+13 %, p = 0.025); pneumococcal vaccination (+20 %, p = 0.003); testing for latent tuberculosis before anti-TNF-α therapy (+10 %, p = 0.028); assessment of hepatitis B virus status before anti-TNF-α therapy (+9 %, p = 0.010); assessment of side effects (+17 %, p = 0.048), and counseling patients about cancer risks (+13 %, p = 0.013).
  
  
  
  QI-focused CME improves community-based gastroenterologists' compliance with IBD quality measures and measures aligned with NQS priorities.
authors.affiliation: PRIME Education, Inc., 8201 West McNab Road, Tamarac, FL, 33321, USA. t.sapir@primeinc.org.
authors.forename: Tamar
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sapir
authors.affiliation: PRIME Education, Inc., 8201 West McNab Road, Tamarac, FL, 33321, USA.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Moreo
authors.affiliation: PRIME Education, Inc., 8201 West McNab Road, Tamarac, FL, 33321, USA.
authors.forename: Jeffrey D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: PRIME Education, Inc., 8201 West McNab Road, Tamarac, FL, 33321, USA.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Greene
authors.affiliation: Indegene Total Therapeutic Management, 300 Townpark Dr #100, Kennesaw, GA, 30144, USA.
authors.forename: Barry
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 E Medical Center Dr # 391, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA.
authors.forename: Peter D R
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Higgins
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D005260:Female; D005762:Gastroenterology / Q000193:education* / Q000592:standards; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D058996:Quality Improvement / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Continuing medical education; Inflammatory bowel disease; Physician quality reporting system; Quality improvement