Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) afflicts millions of people in the United States. It is a significant public health issue, because CHC can evolve into states that are associated with cirrhosis, hepatic fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The incidence of deaths from HCV infections is increasing, and, since 2007, the number of people who die from HCV infection in the United States each year has exceeded the numbers who die from HIV infection. While significant progress has been made in the treatment of CHC, many clinicians with HCV infected patients are not aware of the full range of complex and emerging management and treatment options available or how to apply them to various patient scenarios. Furthermore, infected patients are going undiagnosed due to lack of education and resources surrounding screening and diagnostic testing for CHC. Due to the rapidly changing landscape of CHC management, these issues can significantly affect the treatment of patients with HCV infection and the quality of the care they receive, potentially affecting patient outcomes, increasing morbidity, mortality and treatment costs.
This online program entitled, "HCV Grand Rounds: Reviewing and Discussing HCV Management and Treatment," consists of three program modules that feature a panel of HCV thought leaders who review and discuss the most critical aspects of HCV diagnosis, management and treatment, including unique patient populations and those considered most difficult to manage and treat. The information and opinions provided are intended to improve a clinician's ability to prevent, diagnose and manage HCV infection. Participants who complete these modules will gain increased understanding of the optimal management skills needed to treat various types of patients with CHC, which is expected to result in improved patient care, reduces morbidity and mortality, reduced costs and meaningful improvement in patient outcomes.
This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, pharmacists, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses and other health care professionals involved in the care of patients with HCV infection.
After completing this activity, participants should be better able to:
Release Date: July 27, 2016
Expiration Date: July 27, 2017
Estimated time to complete each Module: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Nezam H. Afdhal, MD Professor of Medicine, Harvard School of Medicine Chief of Hepatology, Director of Liver Center Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Boston, Massachusetts |
Mark Sulkowski, MD Professor of Medicine and Medical Director Viral Hepatitis Center Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Baltimore, Maryland |
Brenda Appolo PA-C, MHS Hepatology Physician Assistant Physician Assistant / Nurse Practitioner Manager Division of Gastroenterology University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
David E. Kaplan, MD, MSc Assistant Professor of Medicine Division of Gastroenterology Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Paul Kwo, MD Professor of Medicine Medical Director, Liver Transplantation Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Indiana University School of Medicine Indianapolis, Indiana |
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and ViralEd, Inc. The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Module 1 - HCV Management and Treatment: Overview and Discussion:
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Module 2 - HCV Management and Treatment: Unique Patient Populations:
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Module 3 - HCV Challenges: An Expert Review and Discussion:
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this continuing education activity for 1.25 contact hour(s) (0.125 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education.
(Universal Activity Number - 0809-9999-16-368-H01-P)
Type of Activity
Application
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this continuing education
activity for 1.25 contact hour(s) (0.125 CEUs) of the Accreditation
Council for Pharmacy Education.
(Universal Activity Number - 0809-9999-16-369-H01-P)
Type of Activity
Application
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this continuing education
activity for 1.25 contact hour(s) (0.125 CEUs) of the Accreditation
Council for Pharmacy Education.
(Universal Activity Number - 0809-9999-16-370-H01-P)
Type of Activity
Application
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COI are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to PIM policy. 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 these CME activities:
Brenda Appolo PA-C, MHS
|
Nezam Afdhal, MD
|
David Kaplan, MD
|
Paul Kwo, MD
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Mark Sulkowski, MD
|
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 these CME activities:
The following PIM planner and managers:, Judi Smelker-Mitchek, RN, BSN; Trace Hutchison, PharmD; Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, CHCP; Jan Shultz, RN, MSN, CHCP 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 interests related to the content of this CME/CE activity of any amount during the past 12 months.
There are no fees for participating and receiving CME credit for this educational activity. During the period, July 27, 2016 through July 27, 2017, participants must read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures and study the educational activity.
PIM supports Green CME by offering your Request for Credit online. If you wish to receive acknowledgment of completing this activity, please complete the post-test and evaluation on http://www.cmeuniversity.com/. On the navigation menu, click on "Find Post-test/Evaluation by Course" and search by course ID 11680 . Upon registering and successfully completing the post-test with a score of 70% or better and the activity evaluation, your certificate will be made available immediately. Processing credit requests online will reduce the amount of paper used by nearly 100,000 sheets per year.
For Pharmacists: Upon successfully completing the post-test with a score of 75% or better and the activity evaluation form, transcript information will be sent to the NABP CPE Monitor Service.
Internet
ViralEd.com requires a modern web browser (internet Explorer7+, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Google Chrome). Certain educational activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation or printable versions of their content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Flash, Apple Quicktime, Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Powerpoint, Windows Media Player and Real Networks Real One Player.
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity 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 the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.
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 of other authorities.
Please see final activity for the policy on privacy and confidentiality that relates to this internet activity.
Jointly Provided by Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and ViralEd, Inc.
This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Merck & Co., Inc.