Measuring meaningful outcomes starts with good needs assessment. A thoughtful and well-designed needs assessment, based on multiple methods, will assist in determining CME program objectives, content, instructional design and, ultimately, the activity's impact or outcomes. Needs identified by potential participants should be verified by other objective measures where possible.

Measuring CME outcomes provides a rich variety of information about the impact and effectiveness of educational activities. Lower-level measures help us understand changes in the learner's knowledge, skills and attitudes, and provide feedback about instructional design and delivery. Measures of higher-level outcomes, even surrogate markers, bring us much closer to knowing whether our CME efforts ultimately made a difference in clinician practice or patient health status. If CME is to demonstrate its contribution to genuine improvements in healthcare, measuring higher-level results is essential.