Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education: The Benefits of Collaboration
In this third of six videos, the collaborating accreditors discuss their collaborations with national initiatives to address public health priorities and develop models for interprofessional continuing education. Hear from Kate Regnier, MA, MBA, Executive Vice President of the ACCME, Dimitra Travlos, PharmD, BCPS, Assistant Executive Director & Director, Continuing Pharmacy Education Provider Accreditation of the ACPE, and Kathy Chappell, PhD, RN, Director, Accreditation Program at the ANCC.
>>REGNIER: One of the things that we've been able to collaborate on so successfully has been around the FDA's REMS program, the Risk Evaluation Mitigation Strategies, for extended release, long-acting opioids. And now, it was new, it was a new approach by the FDA to actually say, as part of their REMS, they wanted prescriber education to be accredited. And so, as part of that initiative, we came to the table as accreditors and said, "How can we help with this process? How can we collaborate in a way that really results in effective education for the prescribers?" We've participated in meetings, we've tried to make sure that our rules don't get in the way of this initiative. But, at the same time, maintain our high standards for quality education and independence from commercial interests. We've played a role in reporting activities, reporting data, auditing activities. So, our collaboration has had, sort of extended life beyond just doing joint accreditation.
>>CHAPPELL: Right. And I think, so important in that FDA REMS part, which was, they've never attempted to have the accreditors, and FDA, and...
>>REGNIER: And the providers…
>>CHAPPELL: And the providers and pharmacy and that industry in that space, but it's the first time that we all came together collaboratively to address a public health issue.
>>REGNIER: Correct.
>>CHAPPELL: So, altogether, everybody in the same space saying, "In the United States, people are dying from abuse of extended release, or long-acting opioids. And so how can we come together to address that?" And I think our collaboration through Joint Accreditation, that's a fantastic example of how we were already doing it, and it was recognized by the FDA and by industry to say, "Here's a model, by which maybe we could replicate."
>>REGNIER: Exactly.
>>TRAVLOS: And even now, another aspect of it, is with the National Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice. So that's a whole other separate entity, that was brought together, it's housed at University in Minnesota, led by Barbara Brandt, and it was funded through a HRSA grant. And their primary goal was how to enhance interprofessional education in undergraduate curriculum.
>>REGNIER: Right, the pre-professional focus.
>>TRAVLOS: The pre-professional years. And, the Executive Director at ACP was on their advisory committee, and pretty much said it's the National Center for Interprofessional Education and Practice. So focusing so much on the pre-professional, what happens once they're done?
>>REGNIER: In practice.
>>TRAVLOS: What happens in practice?
>>CHAPPELL: Right. For the next 40 years that they're a practicing provider.
>>TRAVLOS: Exactly.
>>CHAPPELL: How can we, as accreditors, help support that mission, an initiative to do interprofessional continuing education, and support that. So that has been a fantastic collaborative.
>>TRAVLOS: Yeah. And that led to the establishment of the Advisory Committee for Interprofessional Continuing Education, that we held our first meeting in June with the group. And it was a very successful, I think, advisory board meeting. It's the quickest strategic plan that I've ever developed. But we walked away with at least 14 points to further discuss and to prioritize. And so, that's another area where, again, trying., this, three of us, our collaboration, how it's being led to other collaborations that we're doing to better improve education practice.
>>CHAPPELL: Right. One of the most, I think, exciting things are initiatives through that Advisory Board, is the concept of, the National Center having incubator sites around the country. And looking at models of interprofessional education that improve interprofessional collaborative practice, and how we could take the jointly accredited provider with...
>>REGNIER: And put them together.
>>CHAPPELL: And put them together, to say, "Here we have both of you with the same mission. How can you work together to learn best how to improve team performance in the practice setting?" And all the data that the National Center are collecting through their infrastructure and how our provider community can add to that. So that's been...
>>REGNIER: Really, sort of develop that community of practice, beyond one area of the continuum, to sort of the whole.
>>CHAPPELL: Right.
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