Continuing Medical Education Institute

What Continuing Medical Education Institute does

Continuing Medical Education Institute, Inc. (CMEI) is an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit medical education organization founded in 1998 and headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota. The company develops and presents AAFP-accredited continuing medical education conferences for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals. Its core offering is the 'Primary Care Update' conference series, held annually at resort destinations including Wisconsin Dells, Homer Alaska, Scottsdale Arizona, and Marco Island Florida, granting 10-20 CME credits per event. The AAFP Prescribed Credit accreditation is recognized by the AMA, AOA, CFPC, AANP, and AAPA, allowing cross-discipline credit acceptance.

CMEI generates revenue through conference registration fees set at $650 for physicians and $500 for residents, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare providers. Distribution is direct-to-consumer: attendees register through the company website with PayPal payment processing, by phone, by fax, or by mail. The company operates with 11-50 employees and does not maintain intermediaries, resellers, or marketing automation beyond a basic website. Marketing relies on reputational signals — testimonials describe attendees who have attended 4-19+ prior conferences — indicating a high-retention, word-of-mouth-driven model. An Online CME product is listed as under development but has not yet launched.

The underlying technology stack is minimal: a web-based registration and management system with PayPal payment integration, supplemented by legacy phone/fax/mail channels. The curriculum is developed by physicians, educators, and Pharm.D. professionals with clinical and CME experience, and the conferences feature nationally acclaimed speakers covering common primary care disorders such as cardiovascular disease, gastroenterology, hypertension, and liver conditions. CMEI has no disclosed proprietary technology, no AI/ML capabilities, no patents or trademarks, and no public funding or acquisitions.

Name

Continuing Medical Education Institute

Legal name

Continuing Medical Education Institute, Inc.

Website

https://cmeiconference.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Continuing Medical Education Institute (CMEI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that hosts AAFP-accredited live CME conferences for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants at US resort destinations, charging $500-$650 per attendee.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Continuing Medical Education Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113)

akta.pro primary industry

Healthcare & Clinical Professional Development (CME/CE) (EDAGANAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Healthcare Clinical Professions (CME/CE for Nurses, Allied Health, Pharmacy) (EDAAALAC), Medicine & Allied Health (Clinical) (EDAGABAG), Continuing Education (CE/CPD) & Provider Accreditation Bodies (EDADACAF), Medical & Health Sciences Congresses (THAHAJAA)

Keywords

• Continuing medical education
• CME conferences
• Primary care conferences
• AAFP accredited courses
• Medical professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Wayzata

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Fees: CMEI generates revenue through tuition fees charged to healthcare professionals attending their continuing medical education conferences. Two pricing tiers exist: $650 for physicians and $500 for residents, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare providers. The conferences are held at resort locations with attendees responsible for their own travel and accommodation.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Continuing Medical Education Institute develops and presents AAFP-accredited live, in-person continuing medical education conferences for primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals. The Primary Care Update Conference Series is delivered annually at destination resort venues across the United States (Wisconsin Dells, Homer Alaska, Scottsdale Arizona, Marco Island Florida), granting 10–20 CME credits per event covering common primary care disorders. An online CME platform is under development.

Product overview

Continuing Medical Education Institute offers a portfolio of live, in-person CME conferences under the Primary Care Update Conference Series. The primary product consists of annual multi-day conferences held at resort locations (Wisconsin Dells, Alaska, Scottsdale, Marco Island) delivering AAFP-accredited CME credits. A complementary Online CME platform is under development but not yet launched. The conferences provide continuing education across medical specialties including Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Primary Care Update Conference Series

Quantifiable outcome

• 10 Prescribed credits per conference (AAFP approved)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Healio: Healio provides CME-accredited education for physicians and healthcare professionals across specialties, including primary care, through online and live formats. It competes for the same clinician CME budget that CMEI draws from.
• Pri-Med: Pri-Med is a large CME provider focused on primary care physicians, offering both live conferences and an extensive online CME platform. It directly competes with CMEI in the primary care update category but at significantly greater scale and with a mature digital offering.
• Audio Digest Foundation: Audio Digest Foundation is a long-standing CME provider delivering audio-based continuing education to physicians and allied health professionals. It competes for primary care CME credit-earning through an alternative digital-audio format rather than live conferences.
• CME Outfitters: CME Outfitters is an accredited provider of live and online CME for healthcare professionals across multiple specialties, including primary care. It is comparable to CMEI as a multi-format CME provider serving similar clinician audiences.
• Meetings By Mail: Meetings By Mail converts recordings of live medical conferences into enduring CME-eligible materials for physicians. It represents a hybrid competitor that both depends on and rivals live CME conferences like CMEI's.

Broad incumbents

• Medscape Education: Medscape operates the largest free online CME platform for healthcare professionals across all specialties, including primary care. While not focused exclusively on primary care, it is a dominant destination for physician credit-earning and a key alternative to CMEI's live conferences.
• American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP): AAFP is the accrediting body that grants CMEI its prescribed credit status and also operates its own CME activities and conferences for family physicians. AAFP represents both a regulatory relationship and a competitive force in primary care CME.
• Cleveland Clinic Center for Continuing Education: Cleveland Clinic's continuing education arm offers accredited live and online CME for primary care and specialty audiences. It competes with CMEI for primary care physician engagement, leveraging the Cleveland Clinic brand.
• Mayo Clinic School of Continuous Professional Development: Mayo Clinic's CPD division offers accredited CME conferences and online courses across specialties, including primary care-focused content. As an academic medical center-backed provider, it competes with CMEI for primary care physician CME attendance.

Others

• ACHL (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education): ACCME is the national accrediting body for organizations providing CME to physicians in the US. CMEI is accredited through AAFP rather than ACCME directly, but ACCME-accredited providers represent the broader ecosystem in which CMEI operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Continuing Medical Education Institute