Finding Formulary Coverage

Quite often I find myself needing to know whether a particular drug is covered on a provincial or private formularies. Usually, finding this information is not difficult, but it is time-consuming. However, I've recently found a database website that is attempting to keep track of just that.

Drugcoverage.ca is maintained by Plasmid Biocommunications, a communications company specialising in prescription drug reimbursement. As such, it isn't quite the official word on drug coverage, and their product list isn't as extensive as I would like, but the information does appear to be accurate. At the very least the website is a place to start your research.

On drugdiscovery.ca you can check to see which provinces cover a drug on their provincial formularies, and you can also check for federal coverage such as with Veterans Affairs Canada. Finally, it will give you an idea to the extent of coverage by private plans, and whether any manufacturer or other special access programs exists for the drug.

Medical Writing Survey

I received an email from a graduate student in the Biomedical Writing program at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, who is looking for supervisors of medical writers to participate in survey she is conducting for one of her classes.

If you supervise at least 3 medical writers (including freelances), you are invited to participate in her survey.

The survey is being conducted by Jennifer Withers. You may contact her at jwithers@mail.usp.edu with any questions or comments. She is also asking for help reaching surveying participants, so please feel free to forward information about the survey to your colleagues.

AMWA-Canada Symposium Reminder

Time is running out to register for the AMWA-Canada Medical Writing Symposium taking place in Ottawa on April 18th, 2008. The deadline for registration is this Friday, March 14th.

This one-day events offers four AMWA workshops, three are accredited for the cores certificates and one is accredited for the advanced certificate. If you're enrolled in any of these programs, this is a great way to get the credits and meet up with some of your Canadian colleagues.

The event takes place at Foustanellas Auditorium of the Ottawa Heart Institute, located on the Civic Campus of the Ottawa Hospital. Workshops include:

Writing and Designing Materials for Patient Education (EW/PRAM) with Sharon
Nancekivell

Improving Comprehension: Theories and Research Findings (EW/ED) with Tom Lang

Principles of Pharmacoeconomics (EW/PH) with Christopher J. Longo

Reporting Randomized Trials in Science Journals (ADV) with Tom Lang.

Online Medical Writing Course at Concordia

For those of you who missed it this past winter session, Concordia University will be once again offering an online Medical Writing class (CE2769N/C1) next semester. The class starts April 5th and runs until June 5th. Registration is open and will continue until March 10th (next Thursday) for fax and mail enrollment, and for in-person enrollment until March 13th.

Most of this course is a basic introduction to writing for the pharmaceutical industry in Canada, including marketing (copy), CHE, and PR writing. It also takes into account the PAAB/Rx&D environment that exists in Canada but not in the USA. Actually, just about everything in this course is done within a Canadian context and it is the only course of its kind (that I'm aware of) in Canada. At the end of the course, students who have done all assignments will have at least two pieces of writing to add to their portfolios.

If you're interested in this course, time is short to register. Space is limited in the course and last semester the registration quota filled up. I believe that this course will not be offered again until 2009.

Here is a brief overview of each of the modules:

Scope and Resources: In this module we will (very) briefly review the different kinds of medical writing as well as some 'tools of the trade.' We will also explore how to find studies and information.

Pharmaceutical Industry and Marketing In Canada: In this module we will be briefly introduce you to the pharmaceutical industry in Canada. We will review the laws and industry codes that govern Canadian pharma, and will look at the relationship between health care professionals and industry.

Continuing Health Education: In this module we will be briefly introduce you to Continuing Health Education in Canada. We will review different Canadian accrediting bodies for CHE and their requirements. We will also discuss non-accredited CHE programs and take a look at the different types of CHE programs that medical writers may be called upon to create, and the role of the writer within CHE.

Advertising and Copy Writing: In this module we will take a look at pharmaceutical advertising and copy writing. We will briefly review the different types of marketing materials that medical copy writers may be called upon to write, as well as the basics of copy writing itself and the PAAB code. We will also explore how to 'translate' journal articles and clinical trial results into marketing 'copy'.

Representative Training Tools and Interactive Materials: In this section we will look at some special considerations when developing tools for sales representative training, including instructional design, learning objectives and writing evaluation questions. We will also learn how to write for web or computer-based learning environments.

Public Relations: In this very brief section we briefly look at the role of PR and media communications within the pharmaceutical industry. We will learn how to write press releases and touch on patient education material.

If you have any questions, send me a note. Also, please feel free to forward this information on to friends and colleagues who might be interested in the course.