Get SMART Educational Initiative Expanded with New Curriculum and More Innovative Programs

MANHATTAN, NY, UNITED STATES, February 22, 2019 /EINPresswire.com/ -- DKBmed, LLC is excited to announce the launch of several new educational programs that address two serious public health concerns—the vast number of Americans in pain, and the epidemic of prescription opioid abuse. The new initiatives are expansions of the successful Safe Means of Administering the Right Therapy (Get SMART) program which provided education about the safe use of extended-release and long-acting opioid analgesics. These expansion programs will cover several other important topics including:

•Optimizing pain assessments

•Implementing effective treatment plans that include nonpharmacologic, nonopioid, and immediate release/short-acting opioid treatments

•Identifying people with opioid use disorder (OUD); previously known as opioid addiction.

The epidemic of opioid use disorder warrants education for clinicians who encounter patients in pain. Pain is the most common reason for seeking medical care. Physical therapists, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and doctors in both primary and specialty care—and their patients—will benefit from this education that was developed in response to a mandate by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and in accordance with the 2018 FDA Education Blueprint for Health Care Providers Involved in the Treatment and Monitoring of Patients with Pain.

“The opioid epidemic in this country can be addressed by educating clinicians who prescribe opioid pain relievers,” said Yvonne D’Arcy, MS, ARNP-C, CNS, FAANP, Pain Management Nurse Practitioner in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. “Get SMART was designed to ensure that all clinicians understand the benefits, risks, and limitations of pain treatments, including the appropriate use of nonpharmacologic, nonopioid analgesics, and opioid medications.”

The new Get SMART programs also draw attention to the importance of recognizing risk for and treating patients with opioid use disorder. “Opioid use disorder, like other chronic conditions, can be successfully managed and long-term remission is possible,” said Michael R. Clark, MD, MPH, MBA, Chair, Psychiatry & Behavior Health at Inova Health System in Falls Church, Virginia. “Get SMART aims to improve clinicians’ ability to identify people who are affected by opioid use disorder and either refer them for treatment or initiate effective treatment themselves.”

About Get SMART
Get SMART was developed by DKBmed in response to the FDA’s original 2011 Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which mandated the development of continuing education activities directed to prescribers of extended-release, long-acting opioid analgesics. To date, more than 11,000 clinicians have participated in the original Get SMART programs, including a series of live meetings, Get SMART Mobile, webcasts, a home study program, and other platforms created in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine, and the Practicing Clinicians Exchange.
The new initiatives include the following programs:

•A quality improvement program launched with partners at the University of Kentucky. The Get SMART UK program will educate clinicians with a live and enduring program on CECentral’s learning network which will include filmed patient vignettes and helpful resources, such as risk calculators, sample patient-provider agreements, and links to referral sources.

•An online curriculum through the RealCME platform that uses patient cases to provide learners with personalized, adaptive learner pathways that cover all areas of the FDA blueprint. Initially, learners are presented with brief patient vignettes, followed by question to assess knowledge in specific domains. Each learner’s responses to these questions will direct and inform a customized curriculum, featuring up to ten “microactivities” that address identified knowledge gaps. Typical clinical questions will be presented by the faculty, who then challenge the learner with interactive questions. After responding to these questions, learners will review commentary, data reviews, clinical rationales, feedback, discussions, and practical guidance, all with the goal of improving their knowledge of effective pain management.

•A series of live meetings for members of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American College Health Association, the Patient-Centered Medical Home Congress, and the National Conference on Correctional Health Care. This series has been developed in partnership with the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine.
•Enhancements to the Get SMART mobile app (http://smart.dkbmed.com) include an adaptable curriculum. In partnership with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine & the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine, DKBmed’s new Get SMART app will permit learners to “test out” of specific sections of the Blueprint and optimize their experience by focusing only on sections with education that is needed by the particular learner. Further, the interactive app will feature new patient videos and will be designed to be more relevant to new specialist audiences. The app will also feature several customized “tracks” to enable primary care and specialist physicians to follow a typical patient from initial evaluation through treatment.

About DKBmed
DKBmed is an integrated continuing medical education company operated by a team of medical education experts. DKBmed provides health care professionals with effective medical education that closes identified knowledge and practice gaps with the goal of improving patient health.

Working with accredited providers, DKBmed develops innovative educational programs and quality improvement initiatives and specializes in bringing new learning methodologies to the CME landscape. DKBmed was an early adopter of case scenarios with recorded and live actors, TED/DKBmed Talks, 3D animation, webcasts, podcasts, e-mail, and mobile phone applications for clinicians and patients. These forward-thinking approaches enable health care professionals to learn using state-of-the-art techniques and access educational programs in a manner that is most convenient and appropriate for them.

DKBmed's programs are accessible through the company's web site (http://dkbmed.com). They reach more than 50,000 health care professionals in primary care and in a variety of specialties, including cystic fibrosis, diabetes, infectious disease, dermatology, ophthalmology, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary disease, nephrology, multiple sclerosis, gout, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, depression, viral hepatitis, eating disorders, and pain management.

Matt
DKBmed
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