A US study found an immersive continuing education (CE) initiative resulted in significant knowledge and competence gains among retinal disease care providers and changes in practice-related treatment behaviours.
Despite clinical trials supporting the effectiveness of anti-VEGF therapies for several retinal conditions, real-world data suggest underuse by clinicians, resulting in poorer visual outcomes for patients, explained researchers from Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and New York’s Med Learning Group. Prior to and following an interactive CE initiative, they examined 10,786 healthcare providers, including ophthalmologists and optometrists, on their knowledge of retinal diseases and guideline-based screening and intervention. Compared with matched controls, learners’ incremental total injections for anti-VEGF agents for retinal conditions increased more after the CE intervention, with 18,513 more anti-VEGF injections prescribed versus ‘non-learners’, they said.
