The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), Washington, D.C., has developed a continuing education (CE) course on dietary supplements for pharmacists. CRN was able to make this commitment through a grant that allows retail pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to receive CE credits from one or two courses, by choosing either an online or in-print version. Drug Store News will market the program to pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and pharmacy schools through a series of promotional e-mails, postcards and advertisements placed in the publication.

“According to our annual CRN Consumer Confidence Survey, 40% of consumers say they trust pharmacists as a reliable source of information on supplements, second only to doctors,” said Judy Blatman, vice president, communications, CRN. “It’s so important that we help ensure pharmacists have appropriate education options when it comes to learning about our industry and its products. We selected Drug Store News Pharmacy Practice as the accredited education provider because of their long-term expertise in providing pharmacists with practical continuing education programs.”

The first home study lesson—”The Regulation of Dietary Supplements”— presented by industry consultant Annette Dickinson, PhD, will teach the participants about current and upcoming regulatory issues for supplements, with a particular focus on implications for consumers and the kinds of questions they may have for their pharmacists.

This CE program will specifically address questions such as how dietary supplements are regulated; what pharmacists should know about dietary supplement regulations; what the new good manufacturing practices (GMPs) for dietary supplements mean; what the new adverse event reporting (AER) law means and what steps should be taken if a pharmacist receives a report; and other upcoming issues related to the regulation of dietary supplements.