Assessing the use of two-way interactive video (TWIV) conferencing to offer heart failure continuing education to rural pharmacists

To assess the effectiveness of using two-way interactive video (TWIV) conferencing technology to offer heart failure continuing education to rural pharmacists, a continuing education program was simulcast from a metropolitan hospital to two rural hospitals via TWIV conferencing. A series of three surveys (pre-program, post-program, six month follow-up) were administered to assess heart failure knowledge and pharmacist confidence when treating patients with heart failure. Fifteen pharmacists participated in the study. Baseline heart failure knowledge significantly improved in the post-program vs. pre-program assessment (90% vs. 66%, P = 0.002) as did the six month follow-up assessment vs. pre-program assessment (81.3% vs. 66%, P = 0.034). Confidence levels of heart failure patient management were significantly improved in the post-program vs. pre-program evaluation (P <0.022). This study showed that TWIV conferencing can be an effective way to offer live continuing education to pharmacists practicing in a rural setting.