Trends and gaps in REMS-focused continuing pharmacy education: An analysis of ACPE-accredited activities

To quantify and evaluate Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)-accredited continuing pharmacy education (CPE) activities related to medications subject to risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS) requirements that were offered during the period 2014-2023.

This study was a retrospective analysis utilizing the ACPE CPE Provider Web Tool database to examine CPE activities designated as REMS-associated that were available between September 1, 2014, and December 31, 2023. CPE activity variables including provider type, joint providership, year, target audience, activity type, activity title, keywords, contact hours, number of participants, industry funding, and learning objectives were extracted and analyzed for each activity. Content analysis was used to identify categories of topics that were covered within these activities.

A total of 160 activities met inclusion criteria after duplicate entries were removed, representing a small fraction (0.05%) of all ACPE-accredited activities offered during the selected time frame. The majority of available activities were knowledge-based (83.1%, n = 133) and delivered live (66.3%, n = 106). Colleges or schools of pharmacy were the most common provider type (20.6%, n = 33). Six thematic categories emerged from content analysis, with "law or regulatory focused" being most prevalent.

REMS-related CPE opportunities were limited in both availability and scope. Expanding accessible, integrated, and innovative REMS education formats through CPE may enhance pharmacist competence and patient safety.