Free CME

This online learning module is designed to raise awareness for HCM and provide an understanding of the lifestyle recommendations you might make to your HCM patients to ensure long-term health and quality of life.

This online learning module is designed to raise awareness for HCM and provide an understanding of how HCM can be diagnosed and appropriately managed. 

Primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDD) comprise a group of 430 different known inborn errors of immunity. The heterogeneous etiology of PIDD leads to a vast array of clinical presentations, including infection, malignancy, autoimmunity, and inflammation. Once thought to be exceedingly rare, PIDD is increasingly being recognized as an underdiagnosed disease affecting between one in 1,000 to one in 5,000 births.

Because a significant percentage of people with PIDD are undiagnosed, improving the recognition of PIDD signs and symptoms necessarily forms the foundation of PIDD-focused medical education efforts. Early treatment improves outcomes and health-related quality of life in children and adults with PIDD, yet time from symptom onset to diagnosis can exceed 4 years. Diagnostic lag has serious consequences for many patients with PIDD due to recurrent infections, which may take a toll on pulmonary function. In a large-scale analysis of patients with common variable immunodeficiency, a common form of PIDD, risk of death increased by 1.7% each year of diagnostic delay.  The most up-to-date guidance around the classification of PIDD and how to determine related genetic tests has been published relatively recently. Communicating related information to HCPs in a timely manner is a demonstrated need.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Glaucoma, a heterogeneous disease leading to progressive damage to the optic nerve, causes irreversible vision loss and affects approximately 64 million people worldwide.The prevalence of glaucoma is increasing, and more than 100 million people will have glaucoma by 2040. Approximately half of all individuals with glaucoma are unaware of their condition due to the asymptomatic nature of the disease. Although the incidence of glaucoma-related blindness has decreased over the last 20 years, thanks to effective management strategies, 13% to 40% of people with glaucoma still develop unilateral or bilateral blindness, typically at a rate of 1.1% per year.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: Ophthalmologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists with an interest in ophthalmology or diseases affecting the eye; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with glaucoma.

This case study features expert discussion surrounding a real HCM patient and is designed to raise awareness for the importance of regularly screening family members for HCM and provide you with an understanding of the HCM screening types.

This case study features expert discussion surrounding a real HCM patient and is designed to raise disease awareness and provide you with a practical understanding of how HCM can be diagnosed and appropriately managed.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Osteoporosis is a disease common among elderly patients and is increasing in frequency as senior citizens begin to represent a larger share of the US population. In the US, fragility fractures are associated with 1.7 million hospitalizations, and the number of annual of osteoporotic fractures is expected to rise to three million annually in the next few years, with annual treatment costs expected to be $25.3 billion. Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporosis, practice gaps related to suboptimal screening, risk assessment, and management practices have led to underdiagnosis and undertreatment of this condition. Osteoporosis screening may identify people at increased risk of low-trauma fracture who may benefit from interventions to minimize risk. The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis with BMD testing in all women 65 years or older and in postmenopausal women younger than 65 years but at increased risk of osteoporosis. However, the literature has consistently illustrated underutilization of screening and diagnostic measures. About 60% of women for whom the USPSTF recommends screening do not receive BMD testing,  with some patient populations more likely than others to miss out on screening and care. Clinicians should be aware that prior fragility fracture is sufficient for diagnosis of osteoporosis, and yet only one-quarter of patients with a prior fragility fracture were aware they had this condition. Underdiagnosis therefore represents a compelling safety consideration, as 20% of patients become dependent on long-term care after a hip fracture, and 20% die within a year from related complications.

Target Audience:

HCPs specializing in: endocrinology, internal medicine, geriatrics, and women’s health; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in those areas of specialty; and those who otherwise commonly care for or clinically encounter patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Growth hormone deficiency (GHD) is characterized by inadequate secretion of growth hormone by the pituitary gland. The condition may arise from a variety of causes, including tumors, radiation, medications, traumatic brain injury, or genetic defects. In children, GHD is characterized by pronounced short stature, defined as 2 or more standard deviations from the mean based on age and sex. Because short stature may be caused by a variety of other factors, including genetics, hypothyroidism, and Turner syndrome, estimating the prevalence of GHD in the pediatric population is challenging. Studies suggest that GHD may occur in 1 out of every 4,000 children. There are also related conditions whose features overlap, including idiopathic short stature (ISS), and primary insulin-like growth factor-I deficiency (PIGFD), complicating diagnosis.

This program has been designed to bring HCPs’ knowledge of the rationale behind management of pediatric GHD up to date and to enhance their competence and practice in caring for pediatric patients with GHD. Topics addressed will include: clinical presentation, diagnostic tests, and safety and efficacy of present and emerging therapy, including dose selection, monitoring, transition into adulthood, and providing patient-centered care.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: Endocrinologists, pediatricians, and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in endocrinology; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with GHD.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online CME self-learning activity:

Osteoporosis is a disease common among elderly patients and is increasing in frequency as senior citizens begin to represent a larger share of the US population. In the US, fragility fractures are associated with 1.7 million hospitalizations, and the number of annual of osteoporotic fractures is expected to rise to three million annually in the next few years, with annual treatment costs expected to be $25.3 billion. Despite the morbidity and mortality associated with osteoporosis, practice gaps related to suboptimal screening, risk assessment, and management practices have led to underdiagnosis and undertreatment of this condition.

Osteoporosis screening may identify people at increased risk of low-trauma fracture who may benefit from interventions to minimize risk. The USPSTF recommends screening for osteoporosis with BMD testing in all women 65 years or older and in postmenopausal women younger than 65 years but at increased risk of osteoporosis. Risk for osteoporosis should be determined by a formal clinical measurement tool, such as FRAX™, which assesses 10-year fracture risk. Diagnosis of osteoporosis can be made based on the history of fragility fracture or with a T score of 2.5 SD or more below the young adult mean BMD.

However, the literature has consistently illustrated underutilization of screening and diagnostic measures. Clinicians should be aware that prior fragility fracture is sufficient for diagnosis of osteoporosis, and yet only one-quarter of patients with a prior fragility fracture were aware they had this condition. Underdiagnosis therefore represents a compelling safety consideration, as 20% of patients become dependent on long-term care after a hip fracture, and 20% die within a year from related complications. Because these outcomes represent significant quality and safety considerations, a number of national quality measures that are strongly supported by the evidence have been developed to address shortcomings in care. 

Target Audience:

HCPs specializing in endocrinology, internal medicine, geriatrics, and women’s health; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in those areas of specialty; and those who otherwise commonly care for or clinically encounter patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

This online learning module is designed to raise awareness for HCM and provide an understanding of how heart failure symptoms should be managed in HCM disease.