MON-006 Effect of Live CME at Improving Knowledge of Internal Medicine Physicians Related to Cardiovascular Outcomes with Antihyperglycemic Therapies

Introduction: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in people with diabetes globally. Based on recent cardiovascular outcomes trial (CVOT) data, antihyperglycemic therapies have the potential to reduce cardiovascular (CV) risk in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). We sought to assess the baseline knowledge and the effect of a live continuing medical education (CME) on internal medicine physicians regarding knowledge of recent CVOT data. Method: A live, interactive satellite symposium was held at the American College of Physicians (ACP) annual meeting. We assessed the effects of the symposium education using a pre-/post-assessment study design. During the symposium, participants were given iPads to answer pre/post questions and the post-activity evaluation. The pre-/post-assessment instrument included knowledge- based questions. Pearson’s chi-squared test assessed whether the post‐assessment score differed from the pre‐assessment score. P values are shown as a measure of significance; P values <.05 are considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 182 physicians attended the symposium, of which 135 (74%) participated in the interactive questions via iPad. Significant overall improvements were seen in all but one area. • There was a 22% positive difference from pre- to post-assessment in the percentage of participants who correctly identified the >10% reduction in fatal/nonfatal MI/stroke that a 1% reduction in A1c would correlate with (25%, n=105 pre; 47%, n=91 post; P=.001). • There was a 6% positive difference from pre- to post-assessment in the percentage of participants who recognized the 14% reduction in 3-point MACE demonstrated in the EMPA-REG CVOT trial (36%, n=98 pre; 45%, n=105 post-assessment; P=.242). • Finally, there was a 41% positive difference from pre- to post-assessment in the percentage of participants who recognized that both canagliflozin and empagliflozin had demonstrated a >30% reduction related to hospitalizations with heart failure line (25%, n=89 pre; 66%,n=100 post; (P<.001). Ongoing educational gaps identified by low post-assessment knowledge levels include: 53% of participants still failed to recognize the correlation between reduction in A1c and reduction of CV events, 55% of participants still failed to identify 3-point MACE reductions from a specific CVOT, and 34% still failed to identify similarities in CVOT related to HHF. Conclusion: This study demonstrates the success of a case-based, interactive live satellite symposium on improving knowledge of internal medicine physicians related to CVOT data. The ongoing educational gaps identified in this activity demonstrate a need for additional education focused on improving knowledge of data from CVOT. Further, internal medicine physicians could also benefit from deeper case-based education focusing on application of CVOT data.