by
NRSKarenRN Admin Jul 12, '12
philadelphia inquirer
mon, jul. 9, 2012
fda unveils safety measures for opioid painkillers washington - drugmakers that market powerful painkiller medications will be required to fund training programs to help u.s. doctors and other health professionals safely prescribe the drugs, which are blamed for thousands of fatal overdoses each year.
the safety plan released by the food and drug administration on monday is designed to reduce misuse and abuse of long-acting opioid pain relievers, which include forms of morphine, methadone and oxycodone. the agency's plan mainly involves educating doctors and patients about appropriate use of the drugs....
...the fda said companies that sell the drugs must offer two to three hours of training to prescribers, either for free or for a small fee. the courses will be designed by companies that provide continuing medical education for health professionals, not by the drugmakers themselves.
the agency wants companies to provide training to least 60 percent of the 320,000 u.s. prescribers of the drugs within three years of launching the programs. the programs, which will be vetted by fda regulators, must be available by march 2013....
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by NRSKarenRN Jul 12, '12 1:36 am
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Jul 12, '12 by elkparkDoesn't say anything about requiring the providers to take the training that the drug companies will be required to offer. Also, I predict this will work out the same way mandated continuing ed always does -- the people who actually care and would stay up to date anyway, without a requirement/mandate, will continue to do so and the people who couldn't care less and have always taken the easiest route will find the least painful way to meet the "letter of the law" without actually improving their practice.
