This Thanksgiving week, we want to say “Thanks!” We’re thankful to have you spend :01 with Twelve:01 each Monday as we share timely tools and insights for the CME/CE enterprise. Wishing you a meaningful, gratitude-filled holiday.
The open-access AI Patient Actor platform developed at Dartmouth College enables learners to engage in realistic patient simulations that include presenting complaints, clinical examinations, diagnostic decisions, and feedback. By role-playing a full-workflow scenario, from patient presentation to interview, exam, ordering tests, and arriving at a diagnosis, the tool aims to mirror real clinical decision-making in a safe learning environment. The conversations are authentic, with voice and text options, and the AI responds like a patient actor would in a clinical setting. Educators can tailor and upload their own cases, reinforcing both communication and reasoning skills via immediate feedback. For CME/CE initiatives, this innovation bridges simulation and real-world practice, offering another avenue for learners to refine their workflow before entering live patient care.
The FDA has removed the longstanding black box warning linking menopause hormone therapy (HRT) to elevated breast cancer risk, following updated evidence showing no significant increase for women using estrogen-only therapy. While the endometrial cancer warning remains, experts note that the FDA’s shift supports more personalized, evidence-aligned menopausal care and may help reduce the hesitation long felt by both clinicians and patients. For CME/CE providers, this change presents a potential opportunity: applicable accredited education can help clinicians recalibrate their understanding of HRT risks and benefits, address persistent misconceptions influenced by dated guidelines.
McKinsey’s November 2025 report outlines four high-value care models poised to make U.S. healthcare more sustainable: shifting appropriate procedures to lower-cost settings, using payer-led analytics to target high-risk patients, expanding primary care–led risk-bearing models for chronic disease, and deploying specialty-led integrated approaches for complex conditions. Each model has demonstrated measurable cost and quality benefits, yet more expansive adoption requires aligned incentives, streamlined operations, and technology-enabled analytics. For CME/CE providers, these trends highlight barriers planning teams might consider when designing accredited education.
