PB0721 - Continuing Education Enhances Interprofessional Team Members’ Ability to Care for Patients with Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria

Background: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, acquired hematopoietic stem cell disorder characterized by hemolysis. Because a chronic, uncontrolled activation of complement is at play in PNH, complement-based therapies are commonly used. However, due to the overall rareness of PNH and the evolving treatment paradigm, many members of the interprofessional care team may be unfamiliar with optimal strategies and how best to care for affected patients.

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the educational impact of a series of continuing medical education (CME) activities on the interprofessional team’s ability to comprehensively care for patients with PNH.

Methods: The PNH educational series consisted of 8 online, CME-certified activities. Educational impact was assessed with repeated pre-/post-education including multiple choice knowledge/competence questions and 5-point Likert scale confidence questions. Data from all hematologists/oncologists (heme/oncs), primary care physicians (PCPs), nurses/nurse practitioners (NPs), and pharmacists who completed pre- and/or post-education assessments were aggregated across activities and stratified by learning theme. Relative changes in the percentage of correct responses and clinicians who were confident (value of 4 or 5) were used to measure improvement in knowledge, competence, and confidence. A McNemar’s test assessed significant levels of changes reported with P values <.05 considered statistically significant. The first activity in the series launched January 2021 and the last launched November 2022; data were collected until December 2022.

Results: The educational curriculum resulted in improvements in heme/oncs’, PCPs’, nurses/NPs’, and pharmacists’ knowledge, competence, and confidence after education (N=37 to 4851).

Conclusion(s): This analysis demonstrates that heme/oncs’, PCPs’, nurses/NPs’, and pharmacists’ knowledge, competence, and confidence regarding the comprehensive care of patients with PNH improved after CME. Despite these improvements, additional educational activities are needed to address residual gaps and further increase the interprofessional team’s ability in this clinical setting.