Announcement
A new continuing medical education/continuing education course (CME/CE), Talking to Patients About Health Risk Behaviors, adds to a growing body of tools available through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to help healthcare professionals care for patients at risk for substance use disorders. The online module provides a real-time patient simulation where physicians can practice motivational interviewing, a science-based technique designed to enhance patient/clinician interaction about problem health behaviors. The course -- a joint program between NIDA, Medscape Education and SIMmersion -- was developed by experts from the fields of internal, family and emergency medicines. It was created with the support of NIDA’s Blending initiative, a program that helps translate the latest research findings into useful clinical tools. The launch of the new CME/CE was announced today at the American College of Emergency Physicians Scientific Assembly in Chicago. The new course is available at www.drugabuse.gov/blending-initiative/cme-ce-simulation.
This CME/CE is the third in a series of continuing medical education online modules currently provided by NIDA. Close to 100,000 healthcare professionals have already taken the other two courses, designed for practicing opioid prescribers: Safe Prescribing for Pain and Managing Patients Who Abuse Prescription Drugs, which have just been renewed on Medscape for a third year. Development was funded by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy as part of the NIDAMED initiative, NIDA’s program to encourage clinicians to screen for substance use disorders.
NIDA is also preparing to develop a fourth CME/CE targeting clinicians who work with adolescents, with the support of a newly established NIDAMED Coalition of Healthcare Organizations. The coalition will consist of member-based, professional healthcare associations with an emphasis on adolescent care, along with experts in the addiction and clinical fields.
For more information on NIDAMED, go to: www.drugabuse.gov/nidamed-medical-health-professionals. For more information on NIDA’s Blending Initiative, see www.drugabuse.gov/nidasamhsa-blending-initiative.