Funding for continuing medical education

We are pleased that academic detailing was mentioned as an underutilized strategy in a recent CMAJ editorial on continuing medical education.1 Academic detailing programs presently exist in 6 provinces. These programs have formed the Canadian Academic Detailing Collaboration to share expertise and resources and to promote academic detailing nationally. The group works closely with local family physicians and the Canadian Optimal Medication Prescribing and Utilization Service.

Academic detailing programs demonstrate many of the elements advocated in the editorial: they are interprofessional (most academic detailers are pharmacists and provide education to physicians, nurse practitioners and other health care professionals); they provide accurate information free from real or perceived biases (academic detailing programs research and appraise evidence on clinical topics and present a balanced view of that evidence); and they make use of adult learning techniques that have been demonstrated to be effective in changing physician behaviour and improving health outcomes.2^,3

A recent report from the Health Council of Canada recommended that academic detailing be expanded in Canada.4 However, despite the high quality of education that academic detailing programs provide, they receive only a small portion of the resources for continuing medical education. Should the proposed Institute of Continuing Health Education be developed, the Canadian Academic Detailing Collaboration is willing to work with it and other agencies that are independent of external influences to promote evidence-based education for health care professionals.