06.01.05
With growing research and clinical interest in using herbs and dietary supplements to treat patients, a new experimental online course is testing the best ways to teach doctors and other health professionals about their use. The benefits and risks of more than 100 herbs and dietary supplements are the focus of the course, prepared by Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, along with several colleagues. The course is based on available scientific evidence, with a goal of providing physicians, physician assistants, nurses and other health professionals with the tools they need to counsel patients about herbs and dietary supplements. It also links participants to the latest evidence-based Internet information on herbs and dietary supplements and teaches them how to report adverse effects their patients encounter to FDA. The course funded by a single grant from the National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD.