A minimum of 3 students is required to allow delivery and a maximum of 6 students are allowed to enrol.
Provision of drug information to General Practitioners has been largely undertaken by the pharmaceutical industry. The most practised and effective methods of providing independent drug information to GPs will be explored in this course. Whilst focussing largely on educational visiting / academic detailing, this course will also explore other ways of transmitting independent information to doctors, including Web-based programs. This course will be of interest to health professionals and organisations associated with providing drug information to General Practitioners. GPs participate actively in the teaching program. Facilitation is provided by experienced educational visitors.

This course is usually offered in two modes:
(1) a three-day residential workshop with pre-workshop preparation and a post-workshop task, followed by two assignments. (Minimum 3 students for this option to be available.)
(2) a distance learning package including two teleconferences, with pre-teleconference preparation and post-teleconference tasks and two assignments. (Minimum 5 students.)

The course aims to: provide communication and interaction skills training in the techniques of educational visiting/academic detailing; provide a knowledge base on rational prescribing and policy developments with respect to quality use of medicines (QUM); provide students with critical appraisal skills training for the provision of independent drug information. You can expect to: identify the strategies that are effective in promoting changes in clinical behaviour; Implement these strategies effectively in a variety of ways; identify where gains can be made for doctors and patients in quality use of medicine and cost effective prescribing; Iientify effective ways of using data about the prescribing pattern of individual doctors.