Evolving the Pyramid: Re-imagining Our Outcomes Framework for the Modern World

For more than two decades the planning and assessment framework by Moore et al (2009), AKA, the “Outcomes Pyramid,” has provided CME/CPD professionals with a clear, shared vocabulary for assessing participation, knowledge, competence, and downstream effects on practice and patient care. Yet, the learning ecosystem has since changed dramatically since its publication, and healthcare CPD expectations and needs continue to evolve.

A 2025 AIS workshop (September 2025) will explore considerations for needed updates to the central education design and outcomes framework used within our community, including implementation and social science conclusions that reveal why knowledge often stalls before performance; research on confidence and intent that surface hidden motivational barriers; EHR and other real-world data that supply objective performance signals; and AI-powered predictive analytics that can now forecast which clinicians are most likely to change practice, and which still need support.

The proposed session for the 2026 Annual Meeting will showcase the findings from the AIS workshop, including key recommendations and commentary related to the Outcomes Pyramid, including where the pyramid still excels, where it strains, and where entirely new updates may be imagined.

Building on that foundation, the participants in this interactive workshop-style session will sketch needed additional  next-generation outcomes model updates—whether that is an expanded pyramid, a dynamic loop, or an entirely new geometry—that preserves Moore et al’s legacy of rigor while embracing the brave new world of continuous data and AI. Facilitators will synthesize the prototypes into a draft framework to be shared post-conference, positioning attendees not just as learners but as co-creators of the field’s future benchmarks for measuring true clinical impact.