Comparison of face-to-face versus interactive video continuing medical education delivery modalities

The challenge to provide accessible continuing medical education (CME) programs for physicians and other health care providers in rural communities is ongoing. One possible solution to facilitate physician access to CME is through distance instructional media such as interactive video (ITV). A review of the literature revealed that there is a dearth of research investigating the differences in effectiveness between CME programs delivered through ITV and CME delivered in the traditional classroom setting. The purpose of this study was to compare physician perceptions of the effectiveness of CME programs delivered by ITV and CME programs delivered in the traditional classroom setting. Results from the survey indicate that ITV and traditional face-to-face CME participants did not feel that the majority of attributes related to the content, speaker, and program were significantly different between the two delivery modalities. The implications from these findings are also discussed.