PDR Network, The Doctors Company and other professional liability carriers and their partners recently announced a new national "Know the Label" campaign to improve drug and patient safety in the United States.

At the center of the campaign is a new online service where physicians can earn free continuing medical education (CME) credits by reading or reviewing the full FDA-approved labeling for the most commonly prescribed drugs.

The service is being delivered to all U.S. physicians and other healthcare providers electronically via the websites of PDR Network, the liability carriers, other partners, and via electronic health records systems (EHRs), which are being rapidly adopted by physicians as a result of underwriting by the federal government, U.S. health plans and hospitals. The campaign and credits are being provided to physicians at no cost.

Staying up to date on the drug labeling is a way to enhance patient safety and reduce professional liability risk. Physicians can be unaware of all of the information on the drug labels or of changes to the labels for the medications they prescribe. National statistics confirm that nearly 30% of medical malpractice suits involve pharmaceuticals, and the FDA-approved labeling is often the standard to which physicians are held in these suits.