Physician Education Intervention Influenced Prescribing for Otitis Media RESEARCH

RESULTS: After the CME, intervention physicians (n=9) more frequently diagnosed otitis media with effusion (OME) (28% of all OM diagnoses) compared to nonintervention physicians (n=90) (11.1% OME diagnoses) (p =0.003). Analysis of 1938 OM episodes showed CME intervention physicians wrote prescriptions for 59% (95% confidence Interval (52%-66%) of episodes compared to 88% (95% CI = 82-90%) of episodes in the nonintervention group; p<0.0001. CME-attending physicians wrote an average of 109 (95% CI = 78132) fewer prescriptions, resulting in an average total savings of $914 to the health care plan (95% CI = $604$1,052) per doctor for OM over the 16month study time-frame. CME attendees less frequently wrote prescriptions for macrolides and sulfonamides (p<0.001 for both) and more frequently for aminopenicillins and cephalosporin antibiotics (p=0.006 and <0.001, respectively) compared to the nonintervention group, in keeping with national guideline recommendations.