H1N1 Vaccination Course: Now Available Online for Health Professionals

TORONTO , Oct. 29 /CNW/ - mdBriefCase Inc., in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), is pleased to provide a new online education course on H1N1 vaccination for health professionals. This accredited course is available to all health professionals at no charge on the following web sites www.mdBriefCase.com (for physicians and nurse practitioners), www.rxBriefCase.com (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians) and www.AdvancingIn.com (all health professionals). Learners are required to participate in a series of interactive question and answer scenarios designed to test their knowledge and provide them with expert advice related to real life patient scenarios. In one case study, a pregnant mother of two is asking her physician about the H1N1 vaccine for both herself and her children.

    
    Following completion 'A Practical Guide to the H1N1 Vaccine', Canadian
    health professionals should be able to:
    -   identify patients or patient groups in their practice that would most
        benefit from vaccination
    -   identify the appropriate vaccine dose, administration schedule and
        required monitoring for infants and young children, children,
        adolescents, adults and the elderly, and
    -   understand the risks and benefits of H1N1 vaccination and effectively
        communicate about immunization.
    

"We ran a national survey in September to ask our 76,000 health professional members about their educational needs related to H1N1. We were astounded at the response - in just one day, we had over 1,200 survey participants" said Greg Cook , president of mdBriefCase Inc. "The majority report speaking to more than 10 patients per month about H1N1, yet their current knowledge ranked relatively low when compared to their desired knowledge in key areas related to vaccination. We are very excited to partner with PHAC to address these gaps."

The Need for Online Education

In the past five years, health professionals have shifted towards using online sources of information. This shift has been significant and universal. According to the Canadian Medical Association, 95% of Canadian physicians now use the internet for professional reasons. 70% now access the internet at least daily and spend 8 - 12 hours per week online. Data from Manhattan Research (US) and MD Insight (Canadian) shows that 50% of all continuing medical education (CME) is now done online and 71% of physicians intend to further decrease their participation in live CME and Increase it in online CME. A study published in JAMA concluded that "Appropriately designed, evidence-based online CME can produce objectively measured changes in behavior as well as sustained gains in knowledge that are comparable or superior to those realized from effective live activities."

"An mdBriefCase online CME course costs less than 10% of the cost of traditional CME on a cost per participant basis. Plus, online CME has a significantly greater effect on behaviour than live CME" said Cynthia Hastings-James, president of rxBriefCase. "Given the reach, convenience and impact on practice, online CME is a fundamental component of optimizing patient care in Canada ."

About mdBriefCase Inc.

mdBriefCase Inc. has been the leading provider of online continuing education for Canadian health care professionals since 2002. We create more than 100 online learning programs each year in collaboration with leading experts, professional societies and academic institutions. mdBriefCase programs typically have over 2,000 participants over the course of 12 months. Our online learning programs are offered through the Web sites; www.mdBriefCase.com, www.AdvancingIn.com, www.rxBriefCase.com, www.mdPassport.com and www.rxPassport.ca. The mdBriefCase membership now constitutes the largest multi-disciplinary healthcare community in Canada with;

    
    -   43,000 physicians (out of 55,000 in Canada) composed of both family
        physicians, specialists and nurse practitioners
    -   23,000 pharmacists (out of 29,000 in Canada) composed of both
        community pharmacists and hospital pharmacists
    -   14,000 allied health care professionals composed of nurses,
        dietitians, diabetes educators, respiratory technicians etc.
    

For further information: Greg Cook, President, mdBriefCase, [phone] ext 225, [email protected]; Cynthia Hastings-James, President, rxBriefCase, [phone] ext 221, [email protected]