TA 105: Conservative Prescribing
TA 105: Conservative Prescribing
Overview
This course provides an overview of conservative prescribing, an approach that encourages health care professionals to ask questions and carefully weigh the risks and benefits of a medication before starting or continuing a prescription. You’ll learn how to prescribe drugs strategically and to recommend non-drug therapy where appropriate. You’ll learn to watch for adverse events and consider long-term, broader health effects. Finally, you’ll learn critical skills to create a shared agenda with patients and families, and to evaluate data to improve the health and quality of life of patients. Although medications can provide great benefits for patients, they can also cause great harm.
Course Objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
- Define conservative prescribing.
- Interpret claims about the risks and benefits of drugs, especially new drugs, based on an understanding of the strengths and limitations of available evidence.
- Describe historical and current examples of serious adverse drug effects.
- Apply the six domains of conservative prescribing to optimize the safety and effectiveness of drug therapy.
Lessons
- Lesson 1: Balancing Risks and Benefits
This lesson introduces the concept of conservative prescribing and explore the six domains of conservative prescribing: think beyond drugs, prescribe strategically, watch for adverse effects, use caution with new drugs, engage patients and families, and consider the long term.
- Lesson 2: Six Domains of Conservative Prescribing
This lesson is a continuation on the concepts taught in lesson 1.
- Lesson 3: Evaluating Evidence for New Medications
This lesson examines drug approval pathways and key features of clinical trial design that play a role in evidence about new drugs. When a medication is approved, information about the drug is shared through different formats, including published studies, clinical guidelines, thought leader opinion articles, and advertising by pharmaceutical companies. A variety of tools can support conservative prescribing, including use of nonpharmaceutical therapy, shared decision making with patients, and collaboration across the care team.
- Lesson 4: Strategies and Resources for Better Prescribing
This lesson builds on earlier lessons, offering practical strategies and resources to inform more conservative prescribing.
Estimated Time of Completion: 1 hour 40 minutes
This content was made possible through grant funding to Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dr. Gordon Schiff by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Dr. Schiff was the principal investigator for the project.
Continuing Education Credits
Course completion typically earns 1.5 Continuing Education credits. Please read the full details to ensure that this course offers your desired credit type. Learn more about Continuing Education credits
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Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.5 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement designates this internet enduring activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement designates this internet enduring activity for a maximum of 1.5 credits for nurses and pharmacists. This activity is approved to award 1.5 credits toward Certified Professional in Patient Safety (CPPS) recertification.
This activity/program is approved by NAHQ® for 1.5 CPHQ CE credits.
Subscriptions
This course is available in the following IHI Open School subscriptions: