1. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Prof. Dr. Armando Pacher Faculty of Bioengineering National University of Entre Rios, Argentina Argentine Federation of Cardiology PCVC Group Online Continuing Medical Education An International Cardiology Congress through the Internet

2. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Online Continuing Medical Education An International Cardiology Congress through the Internet Our experience in Continuing Medical Education through the Internet began in 1999. We currently offer two main activities: Virtual Congresses of Cardiology Continuing Cardiology Education Forum

3. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Contents Brief introduction to the structure of the virtual congress: Who are we? What is the Virtual Congress of Cardiology (VCC)? How do we organize the VCC? How do we deliver the VCC? How much human and financial resources are needed? Virtual congresses that we have developed since 1999 Continuing Cardiology Education Forum Online access to 4 th Virtual Congress of Cardiology Sept 1 to Nov 30, 2005

4. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Who are we? The Argentine Federation of Cardiology (35 scientific societies distributed along the country), and the Faculty of Bioengineering at the National University of Entre Rios, Argentina, have been working together since 1994, giving birth to a scientific-academic group: the PCVC Group, with members from: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Cuba, France, Mexico, Peru, Spain, USA, Venezuela

5. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology What is the Virtual Congress of Cardiology? The Virtual Congress of Cardiology (VCC) is a conference that is delivered through the Internet, in which: lectures, round tables, clinical rounds, courses and brief communications are weekly delivered through web pages, speakers and participants interact through e-mail (comments, questions and replies), the official languages are Spanish, Portuguese and English, activities for self-evaluation and certification are provided, registration and participation are free of charge, and the contents remain online permanently for consultation purposes.

6. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology How do we organize the VCC? There are two committees: a Scientific Committee, and a Technical-Steering Committee. Both committees start working 18 months before the congress begins. Communications are made through mailing lists (e-mail). For each virtual congress, a different group of regional scientific societies is involved in the Scientific Committee, giving equal opportunities to all.

7. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology How do we organize the VCC? (cont.) We define the general characteristics of the scientific program (as in any regular conference). We invite speakers and call for abstracts. We publish the instructions on how to prepare the material, such as lectures, abstracts and papers, and we offer technical assistance. The abstracts are peer reviewed (an average of 75% of the abstracts received are accepted).

8. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology How do we organize the VCC? (cont.) The edition of lectures to be posted online starts four months before the congress begins: the lectures are posted in password protected pages, the speakers are invited to perform quality control of their lectures before they are finally posted for the general public, corrections are made until each speaker gives us his consent. For those participants who live in countries with no access to the Web, we provide a system that delivers web pages through e-mail.

9. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology How do we deliver the VCC? We post contents weekly, during three months, and we send a schedule by e-mail for each week. The access is regulated by a general password. Lectures and brief communications offer a way to send comments and/or questions, through the use of forms that are connected to 19 different thematic forums. Due to the widespread location of participants (from 128 countries), the activities are asynchronous (no online chats nor videoconferences are made).

10. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology How do we deliver the VCC? (cont.) Comments, questions and answers are organized in 19 thematic areas and distributed through electronic mailing lists. To avoid spam and off-topic e-mails, all mailing lists are moderated. Messages are translated and distributed in a bilingual format (English and Spanish or in English and Portuguese). The average time between message received and distributed is 24 hs (between 12 and 30 hs).

11. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology We have developed four VCC between 1999 and 2005 Participants Countries 5th VCC: Set-Nov 2007

12. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology 4 th Virtual Congress of Cardiology Sep 1 – Nov 30, 2005 Participants from 128 countries

13. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Human resources Costs and financial resources Human resources: Three staff members, one temporary member, one translator. 19 moderators and members of the Scientific and Technical Steering Committees, who work pro bono. 4 th VCC costs: U$S 8,500 Financial resources: the cost of each VCC is covered by selling advertising space to pharmaceutical and medical technology companies.

14. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Continuing Cardiology Education Forum www.fac.org.ar/fec In the interval between congresses, the activities continue through the Continuing Cardiology Education Forum (in Spanish and Portuguese). These activities are: clinical rounds, case discussions, bibliographic guides, thematic updatings, symposia, courses, self-assessment and accreditation activities. Forums have nearly 9,000 subscribers (average 422 per mailing list) and about 8 messages per day.

15. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology 4th International Congress of Cardiology through the Internet Sep 1 – Nov 30, 2005 We will access to the congress online: www.fac.org.ar/ccvc

16. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Thank you. Prof. Dr. Armando Pacher apacher@fac.org.ar Courreges 40 3100 Parana, Entre Rios, Argentina www.fac.org.ar/ccvc

17. Entre Ríos National University Argentine Federation of Cardiology Basic bibliography, links and contact addresses www.hi-europe.info/files/pacher.pdf www.fac.org.ar/tcvc/llave/tl690/tl690i.htm www.fac.org.ar/revista/04v33n1/edito/edit02/pacher.htm www.fac.org.ar/ccvc www.fac.org.ar/fec www.fac.org.ar/cetifac Prof. Dr. Armando Pacher apacher@fac.org.ar Courreges 40 3100 Parana, Entre Rios, Argentina