Continuing Medical Education in University Hospital Centers Becomes Strategic

Summary

Since 1989, when the law dealing with the financing of CME was passed, CME in university hospital centers has become more strategic. Evidence for this was provided by the responses to a questionnaire sent every two years since 1989 to the 31 hospitals involved in the study. Five indicators were taken into account. With a response rate of 76% to 97% the results were representative. The financial allocation increased between 1988 and 1990 and remained stable in the subsequent years. In 1994, a commission for CME existed in almost all the hospitals. Most of the time, there was a partnership between the administration and physicians. In 1994, only half of the hospitals had a training plan, Physicians’ needs were taken into account by almost all the hospitals. Physicians’ administrative needs were also taken into account by 87% of the hospitals in 1994, which appeared not to have been the case before. Although efforts were made to evaluate the training sessions, no evaluation of the effects was carried out. We must point out two reasons which made the interpretation difficult: questionnaires differed from one year to another and not all hospitals had usable information about CME. In conclusion, resources have increased, and strategic objectives have appeared or been confirmed