28 How is Postpartum Depression Currently Diagnosed and Managed? Insights from a Virtual Patient Simulation

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to determine physician performance in diagnosis and management of postpartum depression (PPD) and to provide needed education in the consequence free environment of a virtual patient simulation (VPS). METHODS: ∙ A continuing medical education activity was delivered via an online VPS learning platform that offers a lifelike clinical care experience with complete freedom of choice in clinical decision-making and expert personalized feedback to address learner's practice gaps∙ Physicians including psychiatrists, primary care physicians (PCPs), and obstetricians/gynecologists (ob/gyns) were presented with two cases of PPD designed to model the experience of actual practice by including use of electronic health records∙ Following virtual interactions with patients, physicians were asked to make decisions regarding assessments, diagnoses, and pharmacologic therapies. The clinical decisions were analyzed using a sophisticated decision engine, and clinical guidance (CG) based on current evidence-based recommendations was provided in response to learners' clinical decisions∙ Impact of the education was measured by comparing participant decisions pre- and post-CG using a 2-tailed, paired t-test; P