How to Identify Clinical Practice Gaps (and Use Your Findings to Get New Clients)
How can you find and use the gap between current practice and best practice to stand out as a CME provider?
Have you ever read a recent study or new guideline and thought, “Why isn’t anyone talking about this?” That moment of curiosity might be your first clue to a clinical practice gap, and a powerful opening to some new client work.
Many CME writers are great at writing but are unsure how to spot a gap on their own. It can feel like something only researchers or strategists do, but you don’t need to be either. You just need to know what to look for and where to look for it.
What Is a Clinical Practice Gap?
A clinical practice gap is the space between what clinicians are currently doing and what they should be doing based on the latest evidence, guidelines, or standards of care. It could be an awareness issue, a confidence issue, or a knowledge issue. Clinical practice gaps can also be attributed to the fact that research often moves more quickly than any healthcare professional or CME program can keep up with.
Moore’s Outcomes Framework describes the levels where clinical practice gaps can occur, starting with knwoledge (knowing the facts and why they are important ), moving into competence (being able to apply that knowledge), then performance (putting new knowledge or skills into practice), and finally, patient and community health (seeing real change in clinical outcomes).
These gaps may appear as outdated habits, hesitation in applying new guidance, or significant differences in how care is provided from one specific setting to another.
When you're evaluating a potential gap, take a moment to ask yourself: Could education help here? And, to go beyond that, how could education help here? What would that look like?
If education could help, you’ve found a meaningful opportunity to create content that supports learning, and most importantly, supports drives change.
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Where to Look for Gaps
Identifying clinical practice gaps begins with examining the full picture of what’s happening in real-world care. You don’t need access to a research database, and you don’t need a degree in epidemiology. You just need a few reliable places to look and a bit of curiosity to fuel your fire.
Here’s where to start:
Guidelines
Review updates from organizations such as the American Heart Association (AHA), American Diabetes Association (ADA) or National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) – or any medical body that issues guidelines frequently. Consider the current sociopolitical context within which that organization is acting, as well. Right now in the US, we are seeing recommendations from the government that are not aligned with science or the best available evidence. So think carefully about which organizations you are leaning on for evidence. Which ones are you wary of? Then, ask yourself if providers are applying these recommendations.
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Peer-reviewed literature
Scan some recent studies to see if there’s a disconnect between what the evidence says and what’s happening in clinical contexts.
Surveys and provider data
Check for qualitative reports and provider surveys that share the knowledge of providers, their comfort levels, or the rates of implementation of new guidelines and interventions.
Grey literature
White papers, conference posters, and position statements can show early or overlooked trends.
Patient outcomes data
Spend some time examining whether patient care is improving, and ask if a gap is emerging in population health. If you’re looking at patient outcomes data, don’t forget to look at patient-reported outcomes measures that center the patient experience of care. PROMIS is a great place to start.
Health disparities
Are certain groups being left behind because of gender, race, or geography?
For example, if the AHA updates guidance on cardiovascular disease in women but many providers report they still don’t feel confident treating women appropriately, there’s a clear practice gap and a clear need for more education.
How to Analyze What You Find
Once you’ve gathered up some information, it’s time to make sense of it all. Look for specific patterns that appear in multiple sources. Your goal here is to understand where the disconnect is between current practice and best practice.
Ask yourself the following questions:
Are providers aware of the new recommendation?
Do they feel confident using it?
Are they actually doing it in clinical settings?
Is it making a difference in patient outcomes?
Use Moore’s Outcomes as a guide. Are you seeing gaps in knowledge (Levels 3A and 3B), confidence (Level 4), actual practice (Level 5), or health outcomes (Levels 6 and 7)?
It’s essential to avoid jumping to conclusions. Don’t assume that there’s a gap. Instead, look for the proof in data, surveys, or published insights. Consider getting input on your own as well. If you have contacts from your past life as an academic or clinician in the disease state you’re investigating, ask them about their experience working with this new intervention or guideline.
Go beyond identifying learning gaps with root cause analysis. Listen on the Write Medicine Podcast.
How to Pitch Your Findings to Clients
Once you’ve identified a clinical practice gap, you can turn your findings into something truly valuable: a pitch. This doesn’t need to be overly formal or complicated; it just needs to show that you’ve done your homework and have a clear understanding of the issue at hand. Start by compiling a concise summary of the gap, the evidence that demonstrates its existence, and why it matters. Then, suggest a possible educational approach. That might include a format idea (like a slide deck, video or podcast script) and a few early learning objectives.
Bonus: If you’ve conducted a root cause analysis, you can demonstrate to your client that you understand why the gap exists. It’s likely going to be easier for your client to get behind an educational idea when they know why the gap exists.
You can use this pitch in a few different ways:
It might be part of a LOI (letter of introduction/intent) to an education company.
You could send it in an informal email to a client you’ve worked with before.
You might bring it up during a discovery call as a conversation starter.
However you choose to share it, the trick is to be clear and confident in your delivery.
This is where freelance medical writing becomes more than writing. When you bring a well-formed idea to a client, you're showing that you understand the field and can help shape meaningful education.
You're not just a writer. You’re a strategist and partner. That’s what makes your work stand out from the crowd.
You Don’t Need to Be an Expert to be a WriteCME Pro
If you’re newer to this work, it’s easy to feel like identifying a clinical practice gap is something only researchers or clinicians can do. But you don’t need a PhD or a decade of experience to be successful. All you need is curiosity and a straightforward process to follow.
You can use what you find to draft mock pitches, practice writing learning objectives, or build small case studies to include in your outreach materials or your portfolio. These will help demonstrate to potential clients that you’re thinking critically about real-world learning needs.
If you want support while you’re learning, WriteCME Pro gives you the practical tools you need to boost up this skill. You’ll get real-time, peer-to-peer support that helps you feel more confident using your insights to spark new client conversations.
You don’t have to figure it out alone. Join WriteCME Pro today and get the guidance that you need to succeed!
