News in brief - Oct. 3, 2005

Plan B OTC bill awaiting Calif. governor's signature - Online CME on par with live events - California stem cell grants awarded, but legal battle could hold them up

Plan B OTC bill awaiting Calif. governor's signature

A bill forcing California pharmacists to fill all legal prescriptions unless they have voiced objections to their employers in writing landed on Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.

The bill, which passed with sizeable majorities in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, allows pharmacists who believe the emergency contraceptive pill marketed as Plan B is a form of abortion to refuse to fill a prescription. The pharmacist would need to inform his or her employer in writing about his or her belief, and the pharmacy would be legally obligated to fill the prescription or refer the patient to another pharmacy.

Schwarzenegger, who at press time had not announced his position on the bill, has until Oct. 9 to decide whether he'll sign the measure. If he takes no action by that date, it becomes law.

Online CME on par with live events

Online continuing medical education had as much impact on physician behavior as live CME workshops, according to a study published in the Sept. 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The trial included 97 primary care physicians who were assigned to an Internet-based CME course that could be completed over two weeks, or a single live, small-group, interactive CME workshop.

Both courses used instructional approaches demonstrated to be effective in live settings, with content based on the National Institutes of Health's National Cholesterol Education program.

The study found that both events produced similar and significant knowledge gains for the doctors immediately after finishing the course and 12 weeks later.

California stem cell grants awarded, but legal battle could hold them up

The agency appointed to run California's $3 billion stem cell research initiative awarded its first grants, allocating $39 million over three years to 16 institutions to create a program to train predoctoral, postdoctoral and clinical fellows. But the agency, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, is promising money it does not yet have, because the referendum that created the initiative is being challenged in court.

CIRM is operating now thanks to a $3 million loan from the state and a $5 million charitable donation, but it could run out of money as early as May 2006.

If the lawsuits are resolved or alternative funding is secured, about 170 scholars will get training each year under the recently awarded grants. CIRM awarded the grants to three nonprofit research labs and to the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, the California Institute of Technology, Stanford University, the University of Southern California and eight campuses of the University of California system.