Plaque psoriasis care asks clinicians to look beyond the surface of a complex, chronic skin condition. Managing adult plaque psoriasis requires navigating emerging non-steroidal therapies, identifying systemic comorbidities, and overcoming pervasive treatment nonadherence. For the interprofessional healthcare team—dermatologists, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and pharmacists—bridging these clinical challenges requires education that addresses both medical knowledge and patient-centered execution.

That is the exact gap a CME-accredited Patient POV activity set out to bridge: transforming complex therapeutic data into actionable, compassionate clinical practice.

Why Plaque Psoriasis Care Still Challenges the Interprofessional Team

Plaque psoriasis is a systemic inflammatory disease affecting more than 7.5 million adults in the United States (a 3.0% adult prevalence). Beyond visible cutaneous lesions, patients face an increased risk of severe comorbidities—including psoriatic arthritis, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and significant psychosocial distress such as depression and anxiety.

Despite rapid therapeutic innovation, significant practice gaps persist across the multidisciplinary care team:

Low Adherence and Persistence: Real-world data show that adherence to systemic and biologic therapies remains strikingly low, with discontinuation rates exceeding 50% to 65% within 24 months.
Hesitancy with Targeted Non-Steroidal Therapies: Community clinicians often lack familiarity and confidence in selecting and managing novel oral and topical targeted agents, such as phosphodiesterase-4 (PDE4) inhibitors (e.g., oral apremilast and topical roflumilast cream).
Communication Gaps: A disconnect frequently exists between clinician perception and patient experience. Nearly half of patients report feeling disconnected from their care team, often due to frustration over persistent symptoms or lack of shared decision-making.

A traditional lecture focused solely on efficacy data rarely alters how interprofessional care teams communicate at the bedside or select individualized treatment regimens.

What High-Impact Plaque Psoriasis CME Looks Like in Practice

This accredited continuing education initiative titled Patient POV: PDE4 Inhibitors for the Treatment of Adult Plaque Psoriasis was designed move beyond baseline recall.

The activity was jointly accredited (CME/AAPA/NCPD/CPE) to ensure that every member of the interprofessional care team—physicians, PAs, NPs, nurses, and pharmacists—could learn from a shared clinical framework while earning role-specific credit.

The educational architecture was structured around three core clinical competencies:

Scientific Rationale: Understanding the inflammatory cascade and the rationale for targeting PDE4 in plaque psoriasis.
Clinical Evidence Appraisal: Evaluating safety and efficacy data for novel oral and topical PDE4 inhibitors in moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis.
Patient-Centered Adherence Strategies: Developing communication techniques that address patient concerns, foster trust, and support long-term treatment adherence.

How the Activity Was Built: The Patient POV Methodology

Led by Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD (Professor of Dermatology, Pathology, and Social Sciences & Health Policy at Wake Forest University School of Medicine), the activity paired high-level expert commentary with a real-world patient journey.

The design integrated three strategic elements:

Patient-Centered Case Narrative: The faculty guided learners through a real-world patient journey, detailing diagnosis, emotional burden, treatment choices, and long-term management strategies.
Multi-Channel Accessibility: To accommodate busy clinical schedules, the activity was published as an on-demand enduring module accessible via web and mobile app, accompanied by a downloadable slide set for self-study and clinical teaching.
4-Week Clinical Pearls Follow-Up: Four weeks after activity completion, learners received a referenced Clinical Pearls retention email. Sent directly by the activity chairperson, this follow-up reinforced key takeaways, opened a channel for ongoing Q&A, and measured Moore’s Level 5 outcomes.

What the Activity Reported: Measurable Learning Gains

Available enduring from September 25, 2024, through September 24, 2025, the activity demonstrated substantial reach, engagement, and measurable clinical impact:

20,126 total Learners reached across web and mobile platforms
282 completers for Credit (N=272 evaluation participants)
Learners included MD/DO, PA, NP, RN, and PharmD
90% reported increased confidence in managing patients with plaque psoriasis
88% reported intent to apply learning to improve patient outcomes
Matching pre/post assessment showed validated knowledge gains

Why These Numbers Matter to CME Planners

CME directors, accreditation leads, and medical society education managers face a dual challenge: attracting busy interprofessional clinicians in a crowded digital marketplace and delivering verifiable, practice-changing clinical impact.

This initiative demonstrates that format attractiveness and educational effectiveness are directly aligned when the activity architecture reflects real-world learner preferences:

Format Attractiveness & High-Volume Engagement: Capturing 20,126 total learners across web and mobile channels highlights the compelling pull of authentic, human-centered storytelling. Clinicians increasingly bypass traditional, slide-heavy lectures in favor of relatable, case-based learning. By centering the curriculum on a real-world Patient POV and distributing it flexibly across web, mobile app, and downloadable slide sets, the activity met multidisciplinary care teams directly within their daily workflows.
Proving Educational Effectiveness at Scale: High learner volume only delivers true CME value if comprehension follows. The matched pre/post evaluation proved profound knowledge shifts across key clinical practice gaps—most notably a +57.13% knowledge gain in patient selection for novel topical roflumilast cream and a +38.93% gain in apremilast safety management.
Elevating Practice Confidence and Intent to Change: Beyond test scores, 90% of completers gained clinical confidence and 88% declared direct intent to apply their learning to improve patient care, demonstrating that narrative-based CME builds the emotional and intellectual buy-in needed for bedside behavior change.
Extending Educational Shelf-Life: Pairing on-demand multi-channel access with a 4-week post-activity Clinical Pearls email created an attractive, low-friction learning experience that reinforced knowledge retention and enabled the continuous tracking of Moore’s Level 5 practice implementation.

What This Means If You Jointly Provide

Specialty societies and clinical organizations often possess strong relationships with target clinician audiences, but may lack the infrastructure required to manage multi-disciplinary joint accreditation and complex outcomes tracking.

Through i3 Health Joint Providership Services, education partners can maintain content ownership and brand leadership while i3 Health manages accreditation compliance, multi-disciplinary credit issuance (CME, NCPD, CPE, AAPA), and rigorous outcomes reporting.

This collaborative model ensures that clinical education achieves maximum reach, compliance, and measurable impact on patient care.

The Nitty Gritty

Who is this case study for?

CME planners, accreditation directors, medical society education managers, and joint providership leads seeking proven, outcomes-driven educational formats.

What outcomes did Patient POV: Plaque Psoriasis report?

20,126 total learners; 282 completers for credit (N=272 evaluation sample); +57.13% knowledge gain in patient selection for topical roflumilast; +38.93% gain in apremilast safety knowledge; 90% reported increased clinical confidence; 88% stated intent to apply learning to improve patient outcomes.

Why use a "Patient POV" format for continuing medical education?

Integrating authentic patient narratives bridges the gap between complex clinical trial data and real-world practice across any therapeutic area. By illuminating the lived patient experience, including adherence barriers, psychosocial burdens, and communication preferences, the Patient POV format humanizes evidence-based science, fosters clinical empathy, and equips interprofessional care teams to deliver more effective, patient-centered care.

Who led the curriculum?

Steven R. Feldman, MD, PhD (Wake Forest University School of Medicine), alongside patient perspective from Sara Richardson (Andrea case study narrative).

How does Joint Providership work with i3 Health?

The host organization retains brand and clinical leadership, while i3 Health Joint Providership Services manages accreditation compliance, multi-professional credit delivery, and outcomes evaluation.

Plaque Psoriasis CME Outcomes: How a Patient POV Design Drove Knowledge, Confidence, and Practice Alignment