Abstract
Introduction: Evidence-based anticoagulant therapy is the cornerstone of stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (SPAF); however, patients are often inappropriately treated, resulting in preventable morbidity and mortality. Hypothesis: A video-based online continuing medical education (CME) activity can improve the knowledge and competence of cardiologists regarding clinical safety and appropriate use of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOACs) in management of SPAF. Methods: An online CME activity was developed as a 25-minute roundtable discussion with 3 leading experts on the role of NOACs in the setting of SPAF. The activity included a transcript of the discussion and a downloadable slide deck to highlight and reinforce key data. The effects of education were assessed using a linked pre-assessment/post-assessment study design. For all questions combined, the McNemar’s chi-square test was used to assess differences from pre- to post-assessment. P values are shown as a measure of significance; P values <.05 are statistically significant. Cohen’s d was used to calculate the effect size (> 0.8 are large, 0.8-0.4 are medium, and < 0.4 are small). Results: For cardiologists who participated in the CME activity, comparison of individually linked pre-assessment question responses to the respective post-assessment question responses demonstrates statistically significant improvements (N = 489; P <.05), with an overall large effect size of 0.865 (Table). Conclusion: The significant improvements observed in this online CME roundtable discussion demonstrate the benefits of educating the large target audience base with aptly designed educational activities using adult-learning principles. This assessment identified education gaps that support the need to develop additional CME activities on SPAF management for cardiologists, including appropriate use of NOACs to optimize safety while preventing further strokes.
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