INCREASING PATIENT ACCESS TO PAIN MEDICINES AROUND THE WORLD: A FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE NATIONAL POLICIES THAT GOVERN DRUG DISTRIBUTION

~ On-line Course ~
INCREASING PATIENT ACCESS TO PAIN MEDICINES AROUND THE WORLD:
A FRAMEWORK TO IMPROVE NATIONAL POLICIES THAT GOVERN DRUG DISTRIBUTION

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is this course about? Who should take this course? How long will the course last? What can you earn for taking this course? If you choose to earn a certificate, how will you be evaluated? What are the technical requirements to take this course? In what languages is the course available? How should this course be referenced?	HOW IS THIS COURSE ORGANIZED? The course has 7 lessons, each with required readings. The content presented in each lesson builds on the content from previous lessons. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you complete the lessons in order.
		English (PDF)	Spanish (PDF)	Russian (PDF)
	Lesson 1: Understanding the Relationship between Pain and Drug Control Policy (html)
	Lesson 2: The Role of International and National Law and Organizations (html)
	Lesson 3: Barriers to Opioid Availability and Access (html)
	Lesson 4: WHO Guidelines to Evaluate National Opioids Control Policy (html)
	Lesson 5: WHO Guidelines to Evaluate National Administrative Systems for Estimating Opioid Requirements and Reporting Consumption Statistics (html)
GETTING STARTED Browse through the lessons - HTML versions (in English) are available by clicking each title at right; PDF versions of these lessons are also available in English, Spanish, and Russian	Lesson 6: WHO Guidelines on Procurement and Distribution Systems for Opioid Analgesics (html)
	Lesson 7: How to Make Change in Your Country (html)

What is this course about?
This course is about the relationship between government policies that affect the medical availability of opioid analgesics and patients who experience moderate to severe pain.
It is critically important for health care professionals and government drug regulators as well as advocates involved in the area of palliative care and pain relief to understand the government policies that control opioid analgesics and how they can impact medication availability and patient access to opioid analgesics.

Who should take this course?
The course is aimed at health care professionals, government administrators, drug regulatory personnel, national health policy advisors, and health policy scholars.

How long will the course last?
This is a self-paced course that can be taken at any time that is convenient for you.

What can you earn for taking this course?
Upon successful completion and submission of all 7 course lessons and quizzes, you will receive (via email) a certificate of completion with your name and the date.

To earn a certificate, you must complete, submit and also answer 80% or more of the questions on the quizzes correctly. However, this is a non-credit course and you will not earn credit towards a degree program or continuing professional education credits.

If you choose to earn a certificate, how will you be evaluated?
Each lesson has a quiz. The questions are drawn from the material in the lesson and the required readings. If you choose to earn a certificate, after you have completed each lesson, you will need to take the quiz.

If you complete these requirements, within a few weeks of your completion of the course and submission of the quiz answers, the Pain & Policy Studies Group will email your official certificate (in PDF format). Please note that the certificate will be sent to the email address that you use when you submit the quiz responses.

What are the technical requirements to take this course?
This course requires periods of uninterrupted connectivity to the internet. For example, you will need to be connected to the internet to submit your responses on the lesson quizzes. However, the readings and lesson content can be downloaded or printed to be read off-line.

In what languages is the course available?
The entire course is available in English including the quizzes for each lesson. Lessons 1, 3, 4, and 7 are also available in Spanish and Russian; however, these lessons do not include translations of the quizzes. Therefore, it is only possible to earn a certificate by completing the English quizzes.

How should this course be referenced?
Excerpts from this course may be quoted with the following citation:

Notes to the Course User

This course is intended for educational purposes only.
The medical and policy information in the course is not a substitute for professional advice for specific situations.
This course is for the private educational use of the learner only. Further use or distribution of any part of the course must be with written permission of the PPSG.
Some of the course materials are included with the permission of the copyright holder. Further use or distribution of copyrighted materials must be pursuant to written permission from the copyright holder, not the PPSG.
Please be assured that your responses will remain confidential and that your identity will be anonymous. Any results that are published from these responses to the quizzes will be presented as an aggregated total.

Requests, suggestions, or questions can be directed to:

Pain & Policy Studies Group
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Carbone Comprehensive Cancer Center
6152 Medical Sciences Center
1300 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53706
Tel 1-608-263-7662
Fax 1-608-263-0259
Email ppsg@uwcarbone.wisc.edu