Empowering doctors with continuous medical education: A look at MCI India's S.C.O.P.E

High-quality continuous medical education (CME) is crucial for healthcare professionals. MCI India recognises this need and offers a unique platform called S.C.O.P.E (which stands for Scientific Content Optimisation Platformed Education) to bridge the knowledge gap between international medical expertise and medical fraternity in regions like India, South East Asia and Middle East. 

This is achieved by strategically sourcing and repackaging original scientific content from annual congresses of renowned medical societies and esteemed medical journals. By collaborating with these international partners, S.C.O.P.E ensures its programmes provide doctors with access to the latest medical research and best practices. 

S.C.O.P.E's service offerings 

S.C.O.P.E offers a diverse range of services catering to the educational needs of doctors and the strategic goals of pharmaceutical companies. Understanding the diverse needs of busy professionals, S.C.O.P.E delivers medical content in various formats – live, virtual and hybrid. This allows doctors to choose the learning method that best suits their schedule and preferences. 

Here's a closer look: 
 

‭• Scientific events 

○ “Best of” conferences: These are uniquely designed congresses for regional cascading of original congress content. The content / sessions are generally delivered by the original researcher. This allows them to stay updated on the latest advancements without the logistics hurdles or expense of attending the full conferences. 

○ International Speaker Programmes (ISPs): S.C.O.P.E collaborates with individual medical experts (doctors) to conduct multi-city road shows, designed to focus on a particular therapy area and share best practices for better patient outcomes. The content may also focus on a class of drug and its pharmacological benefit/s in the given therapy. 

‭• Workshops and preceptorships: Beyond theoretical knowledge, MCI India recognises the value of practical skills development. Under S.C.O.P.E, they offer workshops and preceptorship programmes, providing a more hands-on learning experience for doctors looking to refine their interventional skills. 

‭• Conference coverage: For doctors who cannot attend international conferences in person, S.C.O.P.E offers live web-based international speaker talks, capturing the key takeaways from these prestigious events. Additionally, daily digital updates with concise summaries of conference highlights are provided, ensuring doctors stay informed real-time within their busy schedules. 

‭• Certification courses: S.C.O.P.E offers both in-licensed and bespoke models of certification courses. While in-licensed courses do not offer content flexibility, bespoke model enables to custom curate content as per the need to the therapy. These courses provide doctors with the opportunity to earn valuable certifications, further enhancing their professional development. 

‭• In-licensed products: Beyond courses, S.C.O.P.E leverages partnerships to offer doctors access to in-licensed digital and video journals from international medical societies. This allows doctors to delve deeper into specific areas of interest and stay updated with the latest research findings and clinical trials. 

‭• Content development: Understanding the importance of effective communication, S.C.O.P.E provides services for customised content development, encompassing both physician and patient education materials. Content can be tailored for doctor-to-doctor knowledge transfer or simplified for patient understanding. 

‭• Publication support: For doctors aiming to publish their research findings, S.C.O.P.E offers valuable medical content-writing support. This includes assistance with planning, drafting and navigating the editorial process to ensure their work meets the demands of the editorial board of the journal of choice and, further, gets accepted for publication to reach a wider audience. 

Strategic partnerships and business model 

A key factor contributing to S.C.O.P.E's success is its strong network of partnerships with well-respected international medical societies and pharmaceutical companies. These collaborations allows S.C.O.P.E to source high-quality, credible scientific content and offer access to doctors in India. 

The business model often involves pharmaceutical companies sponsoring these educational programmes. This provides doctors with free access to valuable information while allowing pharmaceutical companies to educate healthcare professionals about relevant therapeutic areas they specialise in. 

S.C.O.P.E's commitment to high-quality CME programs is evident in their work with leading pharmaceutical companies in India. They have successfully executed events across various therapeutic areas, including oncology, ophthalmology, dermatology, and gastroenterology. Examples include the "Best of ASCO" programme series, the "DermaXpert: Fungal Infection Series" and the "GastroXpert Series In collaboration with Mayo Clinic". 

These programmes have attracted strong participation of up to 7,500 live attendees.  
 

Through S.C.O.P.E, pharmaceutical companies are able to: 

Reach a wider audience of Indian doctors through high-impact educational programmes like conferences, workshops and webinars.  

Leverage S.C.O.P.E’s content development services to create informative and credible materials aligned with their brand's therapeutic areas, educating doctors about their products while adhering to ethical marketing guidelines. 

Collaborate with esteemed medical associations partnering with S.C.O.P.E, enhancing the credibility of their educational programmes and gaining access to established networks of doctors within those associations. 
 

The benefits for medical Associations include: 

Global reach, local impact: S.C.O.P.E allows Associations to extend the reach of their scientific content beyond international conferences. Content can also be packaged into consumable formats for Indian doctors, maximising the impact of research and knowledge sharing. 

Increased engagement: MCI India’s event management expertise allows Associations to host high-quality conferences and workshops in India, fostering valuable interactions and knowledge exchange between doctors and industry experts. 

Monetisation opportunities: Apart from drawing new members and the opportunity for education-based revenue streams like certification courses, Associations can partner with pharmaceutical companies to co-sponsor educational programmes that support their goals and initiatives. 

S.C.O.P.E’s preferred partners to date have included the American Urological Association, European Association of Urology, American College of Cardiology, World Heart Federation, SCAI, American Thoracic Society, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Endocrine Society, American Gastroenterological Association, International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Royal College of General Practitioners, American College of Physicians and the Mayo Clinic. 
 

Looking ahead: A global vision for medical education 
 

While currently focused on bridging the knowledge gap for Indian doctors, S.C.O.P.E has global aspirations and already events with international bodies have been held in locations like the UK and Hong Kong. 

To find out more about S.C.O.P.E, contact MCI India.