OLD LYME, CT — JANUARY 8, 2016 — When PILOT was launched in 2004, like most in the education industry, we were thinking about knowledge. We were working hard on getting the word out. We were trying to improve awareness and activate the multidisciplinary team. With no approved therapies, keeping it top of mind was all we could do. We could talk about diagnosis and potential ways to manage IPF, but outside of symptomatic care and lung transplantation we really didn’t have much to offer in terms of patient care (performance).
That all changed in 2014 with the approval of 2 new therapies. Suddenly, clinicians were interested in advancing their understanding of IPF and converting the information they had gathered so far into behavior changes. Understanding the new therapies suddenly became the latest clinical need. Education shifted from knowledge-based efforts to activities that provided learners the opportunity to incorporate learnings into clinical practice. Lectures and didactic sessions evolved into case-based education. Learners looked to experts for their clinical expertise and experience, not just their vast knowledge. With this changing need, PILOT efforts evolved to offer expert debates and clinical case vignettes.
Now, after a year of having therapies available, clinicians are once again shifting their educational needs from advancing their understanding of the therapies to engaging with other clinicians and the patient to provide a better patient experience. PILOT is now incorporating shared decision-making and patient input into clinician education.
As a revolutionary educational project, PILOT demonstrates the need to plan education along a path that evolves with the needs of the therapeutic area. Adult learning and behavior change seldom happens in a vacuum; a single educational intervention cannot create permanent behavior change. Additionally, we recognize the importance of the patient voice and not only offer patient education, but coordinate education that combines the entire multidisciplinary health care team as well as the patient/caregiver. Recent PILOT educational activities have demonstrated the value and need to bring the patient to the table when discussing patient care and outcomes.
