Osteoporosis: A Practical Approach for Improving Guideline Adherence for the Primary Care Physician

A Web-Based CME Accredited Activity

Release Date:

July 15, 2010

Expiration Date:

July 31, 2011

Estimated time to complete activity:

Station 1: Pathophysiology of bone loss and treatment options—35 minutes

Station 2: Identifying patients with osteoporosis or at increased risk for fracture and the implementation of evidence-based guidelines—45 minutes

Station 3: Improving patient knowledge and adherence as a therapeutic entity in osteoporosis—30 minutes

Software Requirements

PC/Microsoft Windows 2000 SE or above./Internet Explorer (v5.5 or greater), or Firefox/Flash Player Plug-in (9.0 or later) Sound Card & Speakers/800 x 600 Minimum Monitor Resolution (1024 x 768 Recommended)/Adobe Acrobat Reader*

MAC/MAC OS 10.2.8/Safari/Firefox/Flash Player Plug-in (9.0 or later) Sound Card & Speakers/800 x 600 Minimum Monitor Resolution (1024 x 768 Recommended)/Adobe Acrobat Reader*/Internet Explorer is not supported on the Macintosh.

Statement of Need/Program Overview

Osteoporosis is a preventable condition that can be diagnosed and treated before the occurrence of fracture. However, the implementation of appropriate measures is dependent on clinicians having a thorough understanding of bone changes associated with aging and knowledge of when to begin preventive and diagnostic measures. A number of studies have identified poor clinician adherence to evidence-based guidelines as an important gap in the prevention, detection, and management of osteoporosis. The most recently published guidelines in the United States represent an important breakthrough because they expand the current understanding of how best to accurately quantify fracture risk and contain significant changes for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of patients with osteoporosis. Emerging treatment options, several with new mechanisms of action, also represent breakthroughs that will expand the armamentarium of choices for management of patients with osteoporosis. Clinician knowledge and practice should include a foundational understanding of bone health and structure, recognition of the impact of osteoporosis, and the application of guidelines. Knowledge and practice must also extend beyond guidelines to include more recent data on evaluation and treatment options.

The components of this activity are designed to engage primary care physicians to improve screening and diagnosis in line with established guidelines and improve treatment adherence among at-risk populations.

The CME Lounge is a digital Web community designed to provide independent educational activities that address key treatment and management issues for primary care physicians and other health care professionals. Expert thought leaders have been engaged in the development of this CME activity. Three activity modules that discuss specific issues involving the diagnosis and management of patients with osteoporosis feature expert faculty presentations. Each of the 3 activity modules is approximately 30 minutes in length.

Educational Objectives

1. Describe pharmacotherapies for osteoporosis including mechanisms of action, benefits, and risks. (Station 1)

2. Recognize risk factors, such as gender, and age, that predispose patients to the development of osteoporosis. (Station 2)

3. Outline strategies for treatment in accordance with evidence-based guide lines on the management of osteoporosis. (Station 2)

4. Explain methods for improving rates of treatment adherence in the population at-risk for the development of osteoporosis. (Station 3)

Faculty

E. Michael Lewiecki, MD, FACP, FACE

Osteoporosis Director,

New Mexico Clinical Research & Osteoporosis Center

Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine,

University of New Mexico School of Medicine

Albuquerque, NM

Jeffrey P. Levine, MD, MPH

Professor and Director of Women’s Health Programs

Department of Family Medicine

Master Educators Guild

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School

New Brunswick, NJ

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of primary care physicians involved in the care of patients with osteoporosis.

Accreditation

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) and CE Health Interactive. PIM is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this educational activity for a maximum of 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for Station 1, 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for Station 2 and 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for Station 3. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

1.75 credits are available for completing all 3 Stations

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) assesses conflict of interest with its instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of CME activities. All relevant conflicts of interest that are identified are thoroughly vetted by PIM for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies utilized in this activity, and patient care recommendations. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

E. Michael Lewiecki, MD

Advisory Board: Amgen, Lilly, Novartis, Roche/GSK, Upsher-Smith, Wyeth

Contracted Research: Amgen, Lilly, GSK, Novartis, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Roche, sanofi-aventis, Wyeth

Direct Stock Shareholder: General Electric, Procter & Gamble, Teva

Jeffrey Levine, MD

Consulting Fees: Amgen, Novartis, Wyeth

Fees for Non-CME Services: Merck

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

The CE Health Interactive Medical Director, James A. Shiffer, RPh, CCP, hereby reports no
financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.

The following PIM planners and managers, Jan Hixon, RN, BSN, MA, Trace Hutchison, PharmD, Julia Kimball, RN, BSN, Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, Jan Schultz, RN, MSN, CCMEP, and Patricia Staples, MSN, NP-C, CCRN hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM), CE Health Interactive and Amgen do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PIM, CE Health Interactive and Amgen. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations.

Media

This activity is available via webcast only on the Internet at www.thecmelounge.com