Challenge

The release of new clinical data on cryotherapy sparked a growing need for more information on how it could treat a wide variety of conditions, including those related to the prostate and renal disease.  Advances in cryoablation have led to positive results in freezing the prostate gland while minimizing damage to the surrounding area, making this minimally-invasive therapy a viable choice for treating patients with urological conditions. In order to fully grasp the procedure and its effects, healthcare professionals needed to learn about the history, advantages, technique, complications, and other issues related to cryoablation so they would be able to fully educate their patients and make sure it’s the right procedure for them.

Objectives

In 2005, DDA Medical, a custom website design and development company, designed and custom programmed cryotraining.com, a comprehensive continuing medical education (CME) website for practicing urologists who diagnose and manage patients with prostatic and renal disease. The goal for this CME was to educate healthcare professionals on the following:

• History of cryoablation
• Advantages of cryoablation
• Technique of the minimally-invasive surgical procedures, including prostate and renal cryoablation
• Complications of the procedures
• Reimbursement issues for the procedures

Users will be able to register for the CME courses, take their time while learning the material, test their knowledge once all courses are completed, and receive accreditation after test completion.

Solution

As part of the CME, DDA Medical programmed register user functionality, and users received login information for the tool. Throughout each course, DDA integrated slide controls, graphs, tables, imagery, and videos for an interactive and effective eLearning experience. DDA also provided graphic design services, and complemented the user-friendly navigation and straight-forward presentation of information with a clean overall design.

For course accreditation, DDA Medical posted PDF testing material that, once completed, registered users fax to an ACCME-certified facility for grading and certificate issuance. The development and programming of this CME provides an effective learning experience for healthcare professionals who want to continue learning about cryotherapy’s role in urology.