Free Family Medicine CME

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has upended life as humankind knows it, leading to over 238,000,000 cases and 4,800,000 deaths worldwide at the time of writing. SARS-CoV-2 targets the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE-2) receptors present in the nasal epithelium and lungs. Viral replication leads to a variety of clinical presentations and outcomes during the acute infectious process, including: asymptomatic disease; milder symptoms such as fever, dry cough, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, anosmia, and ageusia; and, in severe cases, hypoxemia, acute respiratory stress disease, and death. Complications are not limited to the respiratory tract and may present as multi-organ involvement varying from acute cardiac injury, coagulopathies, and multisystem inflammatory syndrome. Some survivors of the disease must also grapple with reduced health-related quality of life as a result of chronic lung fibrosis and central nervous system or mental health dysfunction, including post-traumatic stress disease, attention deficit, anxiety, and overall impaired cognitive function.

This learning activity has been designed to bring physicians knowledge of the strategies for the management of COVID-19 up to date and to improve their competence and performance in diagnosing and treating it.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: Hospitalists and other primary care physicians, infectious disease physicians, pulmonologists, and critical care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists in those areas of specialty; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with acute COVID-19 infection.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

Cultural competence has been defined in a variety of ways. According to the CDC, cultural competence is a “set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations.” In the setting of healthcare, practicing cultural competence can improve the ability of HCPs to meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients, which may ultimately improve health outcomes among diverse groups of patients with unique sociocultural identities including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.

These observations illustrate not only that there is a gap in care related to the incorporation of cultural sensitivity into health care in the US but also that there are available solutions, and HCPs and their patients stand to benefit from provision of continuing education to address those needs.

Target Audience:

Physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other HCPs.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

Clostridioides difficile (formerly known as Clostridium difficile) is a gram-positive obligate anaerobe that produces exotoxins in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract resulting in watery, loose stool, abdominal pain, and nausea. The U.S. incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is about half a million people, with 28% community-acquired, 37% healthcare-associated, and 36% associated with long-term care facilities. Additionally, CDI has incurred one billion dollars in costs to the U.S. healthcare system. Antibiotic exposure causes changes to the GI microflora and increases the risk of developing CDI, which is especially seen in carbapenems, third-/fourth- generation cephalosporins, clindamycin, and fluoroquinolone use. Other risk factors include acid suppressive therapy; age; prolonged hospitalizations or other recent healthcare exposure; recent tube feeding or GI surgery; and immunocompromised states, including recent chemotherapy.

Target Audience:

HCPs including: infectious diseases physicians, gastroenterologists, hospitalists, and intensivists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in the aforementioned areas of specialty; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with CDI. 

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

 Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects about 15% of the general population in the United States and is the tenth-leading cause of death, accounting for 52,260 deaths in 2020. Along with the risk for end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD), CKD has also been associated with a number of complications, including anemia and hyperphosphatemia. Anemia occurs in about 15% of patients with CKD and arises from decreased erythropoiesis and abnormal iron metabolism. Hyperphosphatemia occurs in the later stages of CKD because the kidney is the primary method by which the body maintains phosphate. This retention of phosphate leads to the development of CKD-mineral bone disorder (CKD-MBD), with the literature suggesting that hyperphosphatemia occurs in a large portion of patients on dialysis based on phosphate binder (PB) usage.

This learning activity has been designed to bring HCPs’ knowledge of the treatment and screening of anemia and hyperphosphatemia in patients with CKD up to date and to improve their competence and performance in treating it. It will walk participants through treatment pathways and review of the evidence behind therapies to treat CKD’s complications.

Target Audience:

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

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Psoriasis, characterized by chronic inflammation of the skin and hyperproliferation and abnormal differentiation of the stratified epidermis, is one of the most common autoimmune diseases in the US. With a clinical presentation of red, scaly plaques on the skin that range in severity from minor, localized lesions to complete body coverage, it is also associated with inflammation of the joints and enthesial attachments and has potential of articular destruction—a complication known as psoriatic arthritis that affects up to 30% of those with the disease. Aside from its direct effects on the skin, it is also reduces quality of life associated with cardiac and psychiatric comorbidities. Over half of patients with psoriasis are unsatisfied with their disease management, and half of patients with mild disease are untreated while the same is true for a fifth of patients with severe disease.

This activity has been designed to bring HCPs’ knowledge of current and emerging screening and treatment strategies for psoriasis up to date and to improve their competence and performance in treating it. This program has also been designed to review treatment strategies and raise awareness of gaps in care of patients with psoriasis and review strategies to promote adherence.

Target Audience:

HCPs specializing in: Dermatologists and primary care physicians; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in dermatology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with psoriasis.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Cultural competence has been defined in a variety of ways. According to the CDC, cultural competence is a “set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals that enables effective work in cross-cultural situations.” In the setting of healthcare, practicing cultural competence can improve the ability of HCPs to meet the social, cultural, and linguistic needs of patients, which may ultimately improve health outcomes among diverse groups of patients with unique sociocultural identities including race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: Physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and other HCPs.