Independent medical education (IME) is most effective when it leads to measurable improvements in care delivery. As oncology continues to evolve rapidly, the primary challenge is not access to information, but the ability of care teams to implement new therapies safely and consistently. This implementation gap has been widely recognized across continuing professional development (CPD) literature as a key barrier to translating innovation into patient outcomes.¹,²

This article describes a multisite IME initiative designed to support community oncology practices adopting bispecific therapies and outlines implications for the broader continuing education community.

Background and Rationale

Traditional IME largely focuses on knowledge acquisition — clinical data, mechanisms of action and guideline updates. While foundational, evidence suggests that knowledge-based interventions alone are insufficient to drive sustained changes in clinician behavior or patient outcomes.³

Emerging oncology therapies introduce new operational and clinical complexities, including step-up dosing protocols, monitoring requirements, and management of novel toxicity profiles such as cytokine release syndrome. These demands extend beyond individual clinician knowledge and require coordinated, system-level readiness across care teams.

Consistent with outcomes-based education frameworks, this initiative was designed to focus on capability building — supporting teams in applying knowledge within their specific practice environments.¹

Educational Design and Implementation

The initiative engaged multidisciplinary teams across community oncology practices, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, advanced practice providers and operational staff. Interprofessional education has been shown to improve collaboration and care coordination, particularly in complex clinical environments.⁴

Educational activities were structured around real-world applications and included:

• Mapping current workflows and identifying gaps in care processes
• Developing and refining escalation pathways for adverse events
• Enhancing communication across clinical and operational roles
• Supporting implementation of standardized monitoring protocols
• Incorporating feedback mechanisms to reinforce practice change

Outcomes and Practice-Level Impact

Participating sites demonstrated improvements in both perceived readiness and operational processes related to bispecific therapy administration.

Reported outcomes included:

• Increased clarity in roles and responsibilities for adverse event management
• Improved interdisciplinary communication between clinic, infusion, and pharmacy teams
• Greater confidence in managing step-up dosing and monitoring requirements
• Enhanced consistency in care processes across sites

One illustrative example involved the redesign of escalation protocols for suspected cytokine release syndrome. Prior to the intervention, variability in recognition and response contributed to delays in care. Following participation, the site implemented a standardized protocol with clearly defined roles, communication steps and treatment pathways. This resulted in more timely intervention and improved team coordination.

These findings are consistent with prior research demonstrating that educational interventions targeting systems and processes — rather than knowledge alone — are more likely to influence clinical performance and patient care.²

Implications for Continuing Education

This initiative highlights several considerations for the continuing education community:

• Shift from knowledge transfer to application. Educational design should prioritize integration into clinical workflows and real-world decision-making.
• Engage the full care team. Interprofessional approaches are essential for therapies requiring coordinated delivery.
• Address systems and processes. Practice change depends on workflow clarity, defined roles, and effective communication structures.
• Incorporate meaningful outcomes. Evaluation should extend beyond knowledge to include measures of confidence, coordination and process improvement.
• Focus on community-based care. Supporting implementation in these settings is critical to ensuring equitable patient access to emerging therapies.

Conclusion

As therapeutic innovation accelerates, the effectiveness of IME will increasingly depend on its ability to support implementation in real-world practice.

This initiative, presented at the 2025 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, demonstrates that education designed around capability building can enhance team readiness, strengthen care processes and improve confidence in managing complex therapies.

For the IME community, this represents an opportunity to further align educational strategies with the realities of modern oncology care — ensuring that advances in science are matched by advances in practice.

References

1. Moore DE Jr, Green JS, Gallis HA. Achieving desired results and improved outcomes: integrating planning and assessment throughout learning activities. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2009;29:1–15.
2. Cervero RM, Gaines JK. The impact of CME on physician performance and patient health outcomes: an updated synthesis of systematic reviews. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2015;35:131–138.
3. Davis DA, Thomson MA, Oxman AD, Haynes RB. Changing physician performance: a systematic review of the effect of continuing medical education strategies. JAMA. 1999;282:867–874.
4. Reeves S, Fletcher S, Barr H, et al. The effects of interprofessional education: a systematic review. Med Teach. 2017;39:1009–1020.

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Cody Ortmann is the Associate Director of Medical Education and Quality Improvement at Genmab, where he leads the alignment of independent medical education (IME) and quality improvement (QI) strategies to evolving medical team needs. Since 2014, he has focused on leveraging research, insights analysis and market dynamics to design education that is relevant, evidence-based and outcomes-driven. Ortmann has worked across a broad range of therapeutic areas and disease states, with deep specialization in hematology. Throughout his career, he has received 24 industry awards recognizing excellence in medical education strategy and execution. He is particularly passionate about innovation and advancing the CME industry to better reflect emerging trends, practice change and the future of healthcare education.