Novartis Consumer Health supports education of regional physicians

The VIP program supports professionals, who are required by governing health authorities to complete a minimum number of CME hours to maintain their medical license and practice in their respective countries. The course was provided and accredited by the American Academy of Continuing Medical Education (AACME), who has served as the international predominant standards-setting and accrediting body for continuing medical education for over 10 years in over 96 countries worldwide.

The course provided each physician with 27 hours of accreditation, in order to gain these hours, physicians had to complete the course in a specified time frame over a number of months.

"Novartis Consumer Health strives to provide the best medical education available to healthcare professionals as cost effectively as possible. The course which was sent to physicians on DvD is time friendly allowing them to choose the time and place to study,"

comments George Wagih, Marketing Manager, Novartis Consumer Health. "Through the Voltaren Emulgel Institute of Pain we have been able to ensure that physicians in the region have received the latest updates in medical thinking benefiting their patient's outcomes," he added.

According to Dr Basheer Ahamed, Consultant Orthopaedic, American Mission Hospital and successful participant of the VIP program, "Continuing medical education is now an essential component and a necessary requirement to practice. With our already busy schedules it can sometimes prove difficult, not to mention very expensive to do this. The VIP program was great as I received the DvDs on a monthly basis and it offered a comfortable way for me to conduct home studying."

Once each participant had successfully completed the DvD CME, the American AACME provided an accredited certificate confirming completion of the course. Following the success of the first phase of the program, the VIP programme is soon to be rolled out in Jordan, Lebanon and Palestine.