Spend :01 of your time each Monday morning as Twelve:01 delivers timely tools, trends, strategies, and/or compliance insights for the CME/CE enterprise.
Microsoft Power Automate is gaining traction as a practical low-code workflow tool for organizations looking to reduce administrative burden without major IT development. For CME/CE teams, the platform could potentially automate routine processes such as registration confirmations, reminder emails, attendance tracking, certificate issuance, approval routing, and reporting across Microsoft 365 and connected systems. A learner form submission, for example, could automatically trigger internal review steps, update tracking records, notify staff, and generate follow-up communications. Operational consistency, fewer manual errors, and reduced staff time spent managing repetitive administrative tasks are some potential key benefits. As education teams continue evaluating AI and automation strategies, workflow streamlining tools may offer a lower-risk operational entry point.
The ACCME has formally adopted a new policy prohibiting accredited providers and their partners from offering gift cards, cash equivalents, or other personal remuneration tied to the purchase or registration of accredited CME activities. The policy clarifies and replaces prior guidance that many organizations interpreted inconsistently, particularly around bundled CME promotions and learner incentives. Importantly, ACCME still permits modest gift cards tied to evaluation completion or raffles, but not incentives connected directly to CME activity purchasing. For accredited providers, operational implications may not only involve marketing workflows, but also registration, vendor relationships, and/or joint providership arrangements. The policy reinforces ACCME’s emphasis on protecting the integrity and independence of accredited education while reducing the appearance of personal financial benefit associated with participation in CME.
AI is rapidly becoming embedded in patient communication through portals, chatbots, automated outreach, and clinical documentation, often with limited visibility into how information is generated or validated. In response, the PatientAI Collaborative – a cross-sector coalition of health systems, clinicians, patient advocates, and industry leaders – recently introduced the AI Care Standard, a governance framework designed to promote safe, accurate, transparent, and clinically responsible AI-generated communication. Built around 10 operational pillars and a structured evaluation framework, the Standard provides organizations with practical criteria for assessing patient-facing AI tools before and after deployment. For CME/CE leaders, the framework arrives alongside growing ACCME scrutiny of inadequately governed AI-generated content and its guidance on responsible use of AI in accredited CME/CE. The broader connection is that accredited education initiatives may be positioned to play a more active role in helping clinicians evaluate AI-generated patient communications.
