APMA News - September/October 2020 - 12

Virtual Learning:

APMA PROVIDES EDUCATION
OPPORTUNITIES DURING COVID-19

all it "a pivot," "being nimble," or "demonstrating agility." Whatever term you use, it means the same thing:
During the COVID-19 national health crisis, we all
have been forced to find new ways to do familiar
things. While APMA has long provided a wealth of digital
tools and resources for its members, continuing education
contact hours (CECH) have only been delivered through
in-person events. Not anymore.
Early in the pandemic, APMA acted quickly to shift the
Coding Seminar planned for March 28 to a virtual event. The
rescheduled event, held on April 25, was a resounding success, as detailed in the May/June issue of APMA News. Following up on this success, APMA offered its first clinical digital CECH offerings in the spring with the Online CECH
series. Between April 30 and June 11, each member-exclusive
session provided 0.5 or 1.0 CECH. Initially slated for five
weeks, the series tacked on two more sessions due to overwhelming demand, for a total of 4.5 CECH. Combined, the
seven sessions had more than 3,600 registrations, and nearly
1,300 members took advantage of this opportunity. The topics covered included dermatologic manifestations of
COVID-19, medial double arthrodesis and flatfoot reconstruction, opioids, heel pain, and more. These presentations
are available for review at www.apma.org/onlinecech. (CECH
credit is not available for viewing the recorded webinars.)
The APMA Annual Scientific Meeting (The National) is the
must-attend meeting for every podiatrist, but COVID-19
made it the can't-happen meeting for any podiatrist. With
The National officially canceled due to the pandemic, and
considering the strong response to the Online CECH series,
APMA knew it had to think bigger in order to deliver a large
amount of CECH in a short period of time. Enter the Online
CECH Summer Series.
Taking place over two weekends, August 8-9 and 15-16,
the Summer Series was a virtual experience intended to reimagine the in-person podiatry conference in an online setting. It also provided a glimpse into the future as the event
was hosted on the APMA Online Learning Center, the association's new online learning management system. Attendees had the option to register for both weekends, to earn up
to 25 total CECH, or just one weekend if it was all their
schedule allowed.
More than 800 people registered to participate in the Summer Series, with the vast majority opting to attend the full

12 APMA News September/October 2020

event. Attendees hailed from 51 different states, territories,
and provinces, and included physicians at all stages of their
careers. The learning experience was a mixture of live and
recorded lectures followed by live question-and-answer sessions with the faculty. The educational program covered a
broad spectrum of foot and ankle surgery and medicine, including limb preservation, pain management, fixation, osteomyelitis, and more. The event also included risk management
as well as MIPS, compliance, and coding.
The reaction to the Summer Series was overwhelmingly
positive:
* 97 percent of attendees were satisfied with the event
* 97 percent of attendees agreed the content was useful,
comprehensive, appropriate, and met the stated objectives
* 95 percent of attendees agreed what they learned will enhance their professional effectiveness, performance, and
patient outcomes
* 97 percent of attendees agreed the quality of the instructional process and presentations, including the educational
methods and teaching materials, were effective
* 94 percent of attendees rated the virtual platform as excellent or good
In addition to participating in the educational program, attendees had the opportunity to connect with leading industry
partners and attend non-CECH sessions during breaks. The
Summer Series included the APMA 2020 Poster Abstracts Competition, with more than 100 posters for attendees to review and
six oral abstracts. (See page 14 for a complete list of winners.)

Upcoming Opportunities
The next scheduled opportunity for virtual CECH is coming
soon. APMA is the gold standard in foot and ankle coding
education, and that continues to be the case during the pandemic. The response to April's Virtual Coding Seminar was so
overwhelming that the association is planning another event
for this fall. Register now for the next Virtual Coding Seminar,
on November 14, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET. The event will
provide up to 4.0 CECH.*
Jeffrey Lehrman, DPM, CPC, and Sarah Abshier, DPM, will
lead the program. The agenda includes wound care coding and
compliance, upcoming E/M changes, imaging services, and the
-59 modifier. To learn more and complete your online registration, visit www.apma.org/thevirtualcodingseminar.
continued on page 14

http://www.apma.org/onlinecech http://www.apma.org/thevirtualcodingseminar

APMA News - September/October 2020

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