Authors :
Presenting Author: Thomas Finnegan, PhD – Medscape Education
Meg Monday, BS – Medscape Education; Jovana Lubarda, PhD – Medscape Education; Pavel Klein, MD – Mid-Atlantic Epilepsy and Sleep Center
Rationale:
Although more than one percent of Americans have been diagnosed with epilepsy, there is evidence that delays in diagnosis exist along with substantial variability in the selection of anti-seizure medications (ASMs). Particularly challenging for clinicians are patients with epilepsy who have a suboptimal response to one or more ASMs. This study utilized an online medical simulation platform to improve the ability of neurologists to assess, diagnose, and select appropriate ASMs for adult patients at different stages in their epilepsy journey.
Methods:
A cohort of US-practicing neurologists who participated in simulation-based education was evaluated. The simulation consisted of two cases presented in a platform that allowed physician learners to choose from numerous lab tests and assessment scales as well as thousands of diagnoses, treatments, and procedures matching the scope and depth of actual practice. The clinical decisions made by the participants were analyzed using an artificial intelligence engine, and instantaneous clinical guidance was provided employing current evidence-based and expert faculty recommendations. Participant decisions were collected after clinical guidance and compared with each user’s baseline data using a McNemar’s test, where P< 0.05 was considered statistically significant, to assess the impact of simulation-based education on clinical decisions made by participants. Data were collected from June 2022 through September 2022.
Results:
The assessment sample consisted of neurologists (n=225) who made clinical decisions within the simulation and proceeded to the concluding debrief section. As a result of clinical guidance, significant improvements (P< 0.05) were observed in several areas: