New Online CME Podcast Service Now Available for Physicians

LONDON, October 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

Informa launches an innovative new program that connects busy physicians with high sound quality MP3-format podcasts for anytime, anywhere learning

Informa Healthcare announced today that CMEcast^©, a new audio podcast-based platform for delivering global unaccredited and accredited continuing medical education, is now open to physicians worldwide at http://www.informacmecast.org.

"This innovative program connects busy physicians with high sound quality MP3-format podcasts for anywhere, anytime learning across all specialties and disease states," says Jay Magrann, Publisher of CMEcast^© Publisher Jay Magrann.

 The new service allows users to track all of their CME activities on a free CMEtracker service and encourages user interaction with expert presenters through an "Ask-the-Expert" feature. The podcasts will offer CMEcast^© credit and/or credit from one of the major European accreditation organizations (EACCME, EBAC, EBAP, ACOE, etc.).

Informa is launching CMEcast^© with a four-podcast program in cardiovascular medicine directed by world-renowned author and researcher Dr. Dimitri P. Mikhailidis of the Royal Free Hospital, London. The first four individual podcasts-featuring Dr. Mikhailidis, Dr. Tony Wierzbicki, Dr. Ioanna Gouni-Berthold and Dr. Devaki Nair-will be available free of charge to site registrants for an introductory period.

The CMEcast^© platform is adapted from the highly successful CPDcast^© platform, which provides accredited continuing legal education in the United Kingdom. CPDcast^©, which was launched in 2007, has attracted over 15,000 registered legal professionals and now offers over 700 podcasts in its library.

"The mission of CMEcast^© is to provide physicians with effective learning opportunities-at a place and time that's convenient to them-that will help them improve the healthcare they provide patients," explains Magrann. "We've developed CMEcast^© with a deep understanding of the challenges that healthcare professionals face in keeping up-to-date in their field of practice.

"This new CME program is another example of Informa's commitment to medical education, borne out by the success of our journals Medical Teacher, the Journal of European CME and The Journal of Interprofessional Care."

For further information, visit the CMEcast^© website: http://www.informaCMEcast.org.

About Informa Healthcare

Informa Healthcare provides authoritative research and analysis for all sectors of the Life Science, Medicine and Pharmaceutical sectors to better serve the commercial and academic needs within the scientific and clinical communities. Informa Healthcare is a division of Informa plc (London: INF).

Informa has more than 150 offices in 40 countries and employs 7,500 staff around the world. Informa Healthcare is headquartered in London with offices in New York, Melbourne, Singapore and Stockholm. For more information, visit: http://www.informahealthcare.com.