Abstract Introduction: Latin America is a large and diverse region, comprising more than 600 million inhabitants and one million physicians in over 20 countries. Resistance to antibacterial drugs is particularly important in the region. This paper describes the design, implementation and results of an international bi-lingual (Spanish and Portuguese) online continuing interprofessional interactive educational program on hospital-acquired infections and antimicrobial resistance for Latin America, supported by the American Society for Microbiology. Methods: Participation, satisfaction and knowledge gain (through pre and post tests) were used. Moreover, commitment to change statements were requested from participants at the end of the course and three months later. Results: There were 1169 participants from 19 Latin American countries who registered: 57% were physicians and 43% were other health care professionals. Of those, 1126 participated in the course, 46% received a certificate of completion and 54% a certificate of participation. There was a significant increase in knowledge between before and after the course. Of 535 participants who took both tests, the grade increased from 59 to 81%. Commitments to change were aligned with course objectives. Discussion: Implementation of this educational program showed the feasibility of a continent-wide interprofessional massive course on hospital acquired-infections in Latin America, in the two main languages spoken in the region. Next steps included a new edition of this course and a "New Challenges" course on hospital-acquired infections, which were successfully implemented in the second semester of 2015 by the same institutions.

Introduction: The information technology explosion has had an impact on society in general, as well as in the health area. Although Biomedical and Health Informatics has grown rapidly as a discipline in response to the dramatic changes, national and international commitments are needed so that current health systems adopt and use integrated information systems. Among the essential elements required are specialized human resources that can build multidisciplinary work groups to help in these changes. Objective: To present the results of adapting the 10x10 education program of the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) for Puerto Rico. This a 155 hour university course on information systems of healthcare organizations. Method: A 5-phase model was used in Puerto Rico for other activities that involved the integration of synchronous and asynchronous, face-to-face and distance activities, as well as the integration of leaders of local institutions, the suitability of the design and the local validity certification. This edition was performed between August and December 2012. Results: Forty professionals from different disciplines subscribed and participated in the course, with 28 (70%) of them passing it. Of these that responded to the course evaluation questionnaire, 71% had never carried out a distance learning activity. Conclusions: The adaptation of the 10x10 course in Spanish for US citizens in Puerto Rico was possible and was useful for the participants involved.

Introducción: La explosión de tecnologías de información ha impactado en la sociedad en general y también en el área de la salud. Si bien la Informática Biomédica y en Salud ha crecido rápidamente como disciplina dando respuesta a vertiginosos cambios, se necesitan compromisos mundiales y nacionales para que los sistemas sanitarios actuales adopten y utilicen sistemas de información integrados. Entre los elementos esenciales se incluyen recursos humanos especializados que puedan conformar equipos de trabajo multidisciplinarios para acompañar el cambio. Objetivo: Describir los resultados de la adaptación para Puerto Rico del programa educativo 10x10 de la American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), un curso universitario de 155 horas de estudio sobre sistemas de información en organizaciones de salud. Método: Se aplicó un modelo en 5 fases utilizado en Puerto Rico para otras actividades educativas que implica la integración de actividades sincrónicas y asincrónicas, presenciales y a distancia, el conocimiento de la realidad local y sus necesidades, la integración de líderes e instituciones locales, la adecuación del diseño y la certificación con validez local. Esta edición se realizó entre agosto y diciembre de 2012. Resultados: Completaron el proceso de inscripción y participaron en el curso 40 profesionales de distintas disciplinas, aprobando el mismo 28 de ellos (70%). El 71% de quienes respondieron la encuesta de evaluación del curso nunca habían realizado una actividad de educación a distancia. Conclusiones: La adaptación del curso 10x10 en español para ciudadanos estadounidenses de Puerto Rico fue posible y resultó útil para los participantes involucrados.

Continuing medical education has the ultimate goal of improving health care quality, safety and efficiency, as one of several strategies available. It is estimated that half of the educational offer used by physicians by the end of the decade will be mediated via Internet. In this article, concepts regarding distance continuing medical education are analyzed, with a focus on Internet-based education. The following aspects are of interest for Institutions planning to adopt it: 1) Its value for the different stakeholders, weighing the following items: a) Trends in Internet usage. b) Reach, in comparison with traditional formats. c) Efficiency, from the perspectives of break-even, cost-efficiency and cost-benefit analyses. d) Impact on clinical practice, in comparison with traditional educational formats. 2) Limitations, challenges and common mistakes with this educational format.

La educación médica continua (EMC) no tiene una finalidad en sí misma, sino que su sentido último es mejorar la calidad, seguridad y eficiencia de la atención médica, como una estrategia más entre varias disponibles. Se estima que la mitad de la oferta educativa utilizada por los médicos antes de finalizar la década sea mediada por Internet. En este artículo se analizan aspectos conceptuales respecto a la EMC a distancia, y en particular a aquella mediada por Internet, que son de interés para las instituciones que deseen utilizarla: 1) Cuál es el valor que puede tener la misma para los distintos interesados, ponderando los siguientes elementos: a) Tendencias en el uso de internet. b) Cobertura y alcance en relación a los formatos tradicionales. c) Eficiencia, desde el punto de vista del punto de equilibrio económico, costo-efectividad y costo-beneficio. d) Impacto en la práctica clínica en relación a los formatos educativos tradicionales. 2) Cuáles son las limitaciones, desafíos y errores habituales que ocurren con este formato educativo.

This paper outlines the evolution of the concept of continuing medical professional development in Uruguay, as that professional development has progressed from independent and varied efforts that were not coordinated or evaluated to a plan that is aimed at improving the quality of educational activities and programs and making them accessible to all the physicians in the country. In contrast to countries where scientific societies and medical associations preside over continuing professional development, in Uruguay the Graduate School of the School of Medicine of the University of the Republic has taken on managing and developing this process. The key objective of this process is for the Graduate School to work in conjunction with other leading players in professional development to create a national system of continuing medical professional development. This system should be interinstitutional and include both public and private entities. By having the key public institutions (the Graduate School and the Ministry of Public Health) working with private entities (medical associations, scientific societies, and health care institutions), there should be an adequate balance of interests. The national professional development system should work in the most decentralized manner possible and should be based on a network of units distributed around the entire country, but with centralized coordination. The system's interinstitutional character should ensure high technical and ethical standards as well as a balance among the governmental, commercial, professional, and university components. This system should serve as the basis for extending this activity to all health personnel in Uruguay. While the national system is still being finalized, the Graduate School has implemented a process of accrediting institutions that are involved in continuing professional medical development. The aim of this accreditation process is to improve the educational offerings for physicians and to generate practical experience that will serve the future system.