Pharmaceutical Representative Certification (PRC-21)

The Pharmaceutical Representative Credentialing (PRC) program is intended for current pharmaceutical sales representatives or those interested in becoming pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Who Developed PRC: The PRC program was developed by subject matter experts in the life sciences industry, healthcare providers and academicians.

Description:

The PRC program is a comprehensive training and certification program comprised of 9 e-modules covering key technical competencies, ethics & compliance and soft skills areas to help ensure that you have a strong understanding of fundamental concepts needed to operate in today’s increasingly competitive environment.

Additionally, the PRC program provides education on important compliance issues related to everything from FDA laws and regulations, fraud and abuse to professional ethics related to opioid use.

Fulfill state requirements: The program can be used to fulfill continuing education requirements for pharmaceutical representatives in certain states where this is required.

Curriculum:

What will I learn?

• Professional Ethics Related to Opioid Use for Pharmaceutical Industry Professionals
• Preventing Fraud & Abuse of Prescription Drugs
• Medical Terminology & Abbreviations
• FDA Laws &Regulations Related to Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing
• Principles of Pharmacoeconomics
• Basic Principles in Pharmacology
• Anatomical & Physiological Effects of Drugs
• Analyzing Peer-Reviewed Literature on Pharmacological Treatments
• Comparison of Therapeutic Drug Classes, their Mechanism of Action and Delivery System
• Consultative Selling Strategy & Execution

1. Medical Terminology & Abbreviations

   Have you ever wondered whether physicians were speaking the same language as you when you engaged a conversation with them about diagnostics, diseases, and therapeutic areas? Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to understand their explanations because most of the medical words are coming from the Greek and Latin languages. This module will help you understand how those difficult words are structured and will give you some vocabulary and tools to decipher them.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Understand medical terminology involved to describe the human body and common diseases. 
   • Understand the meaning of most usual prefixes and suffixes used in medical field. 
   • Understand the most common abbreviations used by therapeutic areas. 
   • Be able to integrate these notions while speaking with healthcare professionals.
2. FDA Laws and Regulations Related to Pharmaceutical Industry Marketing

   This learning module will explain in detail how the interaction between pharma companies and HCPs are crucial elements for the benefits of not only the companies but also the patient populations and the healthcare system in general. Additionally, the module will discuss the FDA laws and regulations related to pharmaceutical industry marketing. You will gain a comprehensive overview related to the applicable laws and industry standards regarding the nature of interaction between how pharma should be interacting with healthcare providers (HCPs).

   Learning Objectives:

   • Understand the purposes of interactions of pharma companies with HCPs (purposes of interactions, benefits of interaction) 
   • Understand the FDA rules and regulations governing HCP interactions with the pharmaceutical industry. 
   • Evaluate different rules governing interactions with HCPs 
   • Recognize the impact of Medical Affairs on the overall relationships of companies with HCPs 
   • Compare and contrast proactive vs reactive discussions (use case study here) 
   • Understand PHRMA (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America) code regulations related to meals for physicians 
   • Compare and contrast speaker programs vs CME events 
   • Know what the Prescription Drug Marketing Act is and its applicability 
   • Know what the Sunshine Act is and its applicability Understand the rules for accessing prescriber data
3. Principles of Pharmacoeconomics

   This module provides the basic Health Economics Outcomes Research (HEOR) principles that medical affairs professionals should be familiar with including the steps involved for assessing pharmacoeconomics and health outcomes studies.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Identify models of pharmacoeconomic analysis 
   • Understand cost benefit and cost effectiveness analyses 
   • Learn about direct and indirect costs and the concept of discounting 
   • Compare and contrast assessment of costs 
   • Become familiar with health outcomes assessment studies 
   • Know the steps involved in the analysis of pharmacoeconomic studies 
   • Know and understand the different types of QOL (quality of life measures)
4. Introduction to Opioid Use for Pharmaceutical Industry Professionals

   This module will provide you with an overview of pain, opioid use, regulations, and associated risks.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Understand the different pains and the opioids mechanism of action 
   • Understand the risks of opioid usage that can lead to addictions and drug abuses 
   • Be aware of recommendations and regulations for opioid prescription and surveillance 
   • Identify the different types of pain Identify the types of opioid receptors (mu, kappa and delta) and their reaction to the presence of different types of opioids 
   • Differentiate between opioid agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists 
   • Understand the risks associated with opioid therapy
5. Basic Principles in Pharmacology

   This module will give you enable you to understand the different characteristics of a drug and understand how it is important for therapeutic success.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Define Pharmacology and understand the difference between Pharmacodynamics and Pharmacokinetics. 
   • Understand how a drug acts 
   • Define the following drug properties: agonist, antagonist, affinity, affinity, efficacy, & potency 
   • Understand the life of a drug in the body: specifically absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion 
   • Understand the concept of personalized medicine with the development of pharmacogenomics
6. Anatomical & Physiological Effects of Drugs

   This module focuses on the concept of homeostasis and how drugs act to restore it when main systems are affected. The first part describes nervous and hormonal regulations of the main functions in the body and the drugs that target these systems. Based on this knowledge, the other paragraphs describe the targets of drugs on the cardiovascular system, the central nervous system and the respiratory system and the drugs used in oncology.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Describe the concept of homeostasis and the regulation by hormones and autonomous nervous system 
   • Understand organ physiology 
   • Understand the interaction between the different systems and anticipate the effects that a drug may have based on its mechanism of action 
   • Describe the strategies available to target one system (activator, inhibitor, antagonist, re-uptake blockers)
7. Prevention of Prescription Drug Fraud and Abuse

   This module provides an overview of the means of drug fraud, frequently abused drugs, the effect that these issues have on society, and the strategies currently in place to address these issues.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Define and distinguish between fraud and abuse 
   • Understand the impact of fraud and abuse of prescription drugs on the society. 
   • Identify the most frequently abused drugs. 
   • Understand the laws that regulate fraud and abuse
8. Analyzing Peer-Reviewed Literature on Pharmacological Treatments

   This module provides an overview of the different types of literature and study designs available. It will give you tools to conduct your research efficiently, to pick the most relevant articles according to the evidence-based medicine evaluation, and to read the results and conclusions with a critical mind set.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Understand how to effectively search through peer-reviewed literature 
   • Read efficiently clinical or research articles 
   • Understand the different types of study designs and literature available 
   • Understand the concept of Evidence-Based Medicine
9. Comparison of Therapeutic Drug Classes

   This module provides an overview of the drug classification. It will provide you with tools to remember the various groups of drugs based on their names and mechanisms of action.

   Learning Objectives:

   • Know the nomenclature of drug classification 
   • Define the difference between therapeutic and pharmacologic classification 
   • Determine the mechanism of action of major drugs
10. High Value Selling

    OVERVIEW

    The focus for this module will be on the processes, principles, and capabilities required to have high value/high impact interactions with your external stakeholders (physicians, nurses, physician assistants and other healthcare providers).

    Your job is an extremely important one, your customers are highly trained HCPs and the competition is aggressive, making the environment that you work in not an easy one.

    LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    • Understand what an effective sales model looks like and how it is used in both emerging and established markets.
    • You will understand the principles the model is based on
    • You will be able to apply the principles during interactions with your customers, and in doing so you will maximize performance in your territories