Opportunities in online education: Lessons learned from 250 e-lectures.

e17545 Background: Continuous medical education (CME) is critical for physicians, particularly in oncology because of the rapid evolution in diagnosis and treatment of malignancies. Since the fast diffusion of the internet in highly developed as well as less developed nations, online education has become a media to reach potentially a significant number of physicians around the globe. Methods: The European School of Oncology is a non-profit organization dedicated to medical education in oncology. A structured e-learning program was launched in 2008. Interactive live lectures are held by recognized experts in the field and are actively moderated. A tailored webpage www.e-eso.net has been developed. Presenters and participants are connected from their own institutes, often in distant locations. Two formats have been developed: E-grandrounds are weekly sessions on hot-topics without commercial sponsorship. E-oncoreviews are monthly sessions designed to offer a balance and comprehensive overview on a specific topic. Participants can register for free and obtain CME accreditation. Users of the live sessions are encouraged to ask questions by email. Presentations are available online for 6 months. Applications for handheld devices have been developed. Results: Between 2008 and 2012, 4700 users from 117 nations have been registered, using the application at least once. 252 online lectures were held, generating 22.000 views (about 87 participants/presentation). The cost per session was about 4000 $US ( 45$/participant) for technical support. About 100 new users per months are currently registered. None of the presenters or participants had to travel. Conclusions: This is to our knowledge the largest online education program based on non-commercial sponsorship. Online education is feasible, potentially cost-effective and ecologically sustainable. Online education is a way to equal access to medical information for economically less favored nations.