Dossier n. 149/2007 [Abstract] E-learning in healthcare

The radical innovation of information and communication technologies (ICT) has deeply affected also education for health professionals, when the national Continuing medical education (CME) program was introduced in Italy.

The chances to introduce e-learning and distance learning in CME aroused great expectations as it promised rapid solutions, easy to spread, at competitive prices if compared to traditional education. The actual realization has however encountered some difficulties not to be undervalued, both in planning and implementation.

The possibility to intervene at the beginning of the process of e-learning introduction in the health system represents a great opportunity as far as governance and quality of the process itself are concerned. The health system has then to provide the necessary competences and instruments to orient and accredit for CME the offer and to make it coherent with education needs and normative constraints.

Some e-learning experimental experiences were therefore developed and some studies were promoted also in Emilia-Romagna Region. The volume presents the first results of these activities:

• the first Chapter introduces some theoretic elements to understand and collocate e-learning in the health system;
• the second summarises the main experimentations presented for CME accreditation in Emilia-Romagna;
• in the third Chapter a survey on some e-learning experiences in Europe is described, with some comparative analyses; 
• the last Chapter presents the schematic descriptions (monographies) of the 20 European experiences examined.