Does continuing medical education improve the quality of medical care? A look at the evidence.

Although continuing education has a long tradition within the medical profession, mandated continuing medical education is of very recent origin. The conceptual framework used to justify continuing medical education is that it exposes physicians to new knowledge, changes physician behavior, and favorably alters patient outcomes. Considerable evidence exists that physician knowledge can be increased, and that behavior can be changed, but there is very little to show an effect on patient outcomes. The effectiveness of continuing medical education is further clouded by such issues as consumerism, licensure politics, and professional standards review organization legislation. Family physicians should have a role in determining the outcome of the continuing medical education debate, as participants, as policy-setters, and as informed critics.