Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Key Role of Primary Care

Rheumatology
Curriculum:
Improving Diangosis and Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis
Credits:
1 ANCC Contact Hours 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)
Launch Date:
July 28, 2016
Expiration Date:
The accreditation for this activity has expired.

Primary Audience:

Pimary care physicians, nurse practitioners, Nurses, Physician Assistants, other healthcare providers who treat patients with RA

Relevant Terms:

Rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis, TNF inhibitors, DMARD, vaccinations, comorbidities

Michael York, MD

Michael York, MD
CME Course Director
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston, MA

Dr. York is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Boston University Medical Center and specializes in rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis and lupus. Dr. York has expertise in the clinical evaluation and management of patients with a variety of auto-immune disorders. He is involved as an investigator in clinical trials in systemic sclerosis and lupus.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Paul P. Doghramji, MD, FAAFP

Paul P. Doghramji, MD, FAAFP
Attending Physician, Collegeville Family Practice
Medical Director, Health Services, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA
Cofounder, Brookside Family Practice and Pediatrics
Assistant Medical Director, Health Services, Hill School
Pottstown, PA

Paul Doghramji, MD, FAAFP is currently senior family practice physician at Collegeville Family Practice, and the Medical Director of Health Services at Ursinus College, both in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. He is also an Attending Physician in family practice at Pottstown Memorial Medical Center in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He is past present co-chair for the National Sleep Foundation’s Sleep and Health Safety Course and is on the board of directors of the National Sleep Foundation.

Dr. Doghramji received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1982. He then completed his residency in family practice at Chestnut Hill Hospital in 1985. He is a member of the American Academy of Family Physicians which awarded him Fellowship Degree in 2005. He is also member of the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians. He has received the American Medical Association’s Physician Recognition Award 8 times, in every qualifying year; the last time was 2011.

Dr. Doghramji has published over 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the American Journal of Medicine, Current Medical Research and Opinion, and Postgraduate Medicine, as well as numerous websites on topics such as sleep disorders, gout, rheumatoid arthritis, biology of leg disorders, depression, chronic pain, health literacy, and diabetes. He is also co-author of the textbook, Clinical Management of Insomnia, recently out in its second edition.
1. Discuss the early signs and symptoms of RA and provide timely referral to rheumatology specialty care when appropriate.
2. Outline practical, evidence-based approaches for diagnosis and management that reflect recent advances in treatment.
3. Increase awareness of evidence-based recommendations on the therapeutic role of biologics, especially emerging data on TNF inhibitors and their use in early/aggressive therapy.

Overview:
As the US care system experiences an increase in demand for services due to an aging population, management of RA is continuing a shift from the domain of rheumatology specialists to the co-management with, or individual management by, primary care practitioners. This program aims to help general practitioners and family medicine practitioners recognize the early signs of RA and refer to or otherwise work with rheumatology specialists.
 
Faculty Info:
Michael York, MD
CME Course Director
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Boston University School of Medicine
Boston, MA
 
Paul P. Doghramji, MD, FAAFP
Attending Physician, Collegeville Family Practice
Medical Director, Health Services, Ursinus College, Collegeville, PA
Cofounder, Brookside Family Practice and Pediatrics
Assistant Medical Director, Health Services, Hill School, Pottstown, PA
 
Nancy Figueiredo, RN
Arthritis Center / Rheumatology
Boston Medical Center
Nancy Figueiredo has been a staff nurse at BMC since 1988. Prior to becoming the Rheumatology Nurse for BMC in 2005, she worked in the ICU for 8 years at Carney Hospital and in the BMC Emergency Department for 15 years. Nancy belongs to the ACR (American College of Rheumatology) as an Allied Health Member and is also a member of the RNS (Rheumatology Nurses Society). She has had the privilege of representing the Arthritis Foundation as an Advocate for Arthritis in Washington, DC and the honor of sitting on a number of Rheumatology roundtables both locally and nationally as a nurse consultant. Nancy is the loving wife of Dave Figueiredo and the proud mother of her son, David (25) and daughter, Jamie (21).
 
Disclosure Policy:
Boston University School of Medicine asks all individuals involved in the development and presentation of Continuing Medical Education (CME) activities to disclose all relevant relationships with commercial interests. This information is disclosed to CME activity participants. Boston University School of Medicine has procedures to resolve conflicts of interest. In addition, faculty members are asked to disclose when any discussion of unapproved use of pharmaceuticals and devices occurs
 
Disclosures:
Michael York, MD, Course Director, has nothing to disclose with regards to commercial interests.
Paul Doghramji, MD, FAAFP, is on the speaker’s bureau for Takeda, Merck, Teva and AstraZeneca. He is also on the advisory board for AstraZeneca.
Nancy Figueiredo, RN, CNE Course Advisor, has nothing to disclose with regards to commercial interests.
John Wiecha MD, Independent Reviewer, has nothing to disclose with regards to commercial interests.
 
Planning Committee:
Elizabeth Drury, Program Manager has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial interests.
Dana Frazier, Program Manager has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial interests.
Patti-Ann Collins, DNP, MSN/MBA, RN, Lead Nurse Planner, has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial interests.
Joshua F. Kilbridge, Medical Writer, has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial interests.
 
Accreditation Statements:
Boston University School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Boston University School of Medicine designates this enduring educational activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
 
Continuing Nursing Education Provider Unit, Boston University School of Medicine is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

CNE Contact Hours: 1.0 all of which are eligible for Pharmacology credit.

Nurses will receive contact hours after completion of the post test, evaluation and claim for credit form.
 
Commercial Supporter:
This activity is supported by independent educational grants from UCB Inc. and AbbVie Inc.
 
HOW TO RECEIVE CREDIT
By reviewing the course content and successfully completing the post-test and evaluation, physicians are entitled to receive 1.0 AMA PRA category 1 credits™, and nurses are entitled to receive 1.00 CNE contact hours, all of which is pharmacology credit worthy. Statement of credit will be available to print from your user history page.
  • Read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures.
  • Participate in the activity.
  • Complete the post-test and activity evaluation.
  • Physicians and nurses who successfully complete the post-test and evaluation will respectively receive CME or CNE. You must score with a 70% or higher on the post-test to receive credit for this activity.
  • All other participants who successfully complete the post-test and evaluation will receive a certificate of participation.
Release Date: July 28, 2016 
Expiration Date: July 27, 2017
Program Code: I.RAPC16
 
For questions about CME, please contact cme@bu.edu or www.bu.edu/cme.
To view Boston University’s Privacy Policy, please see http://www.bumc.bu.edu/cme/policies/.
 
DISCLAIMER
THESE MATERIALS AND ALL OTHER MATERIALS PROVIDED IN CONJUNCTION WITH CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES ARE INTENDED SOLELY FOR PURPOSES OF SUPPLEMENTING CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR QUALIFIED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS. ANYONE USING THE MATERIALS ASSUMES FULL RESPONSIBILITY AND ALL RISK FOR THEIR APPROPRIATE USE. TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY MAKES NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS WHATSOEVER REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, CURRENTNESS, NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE MATERIALS. IN NO EVENT WILL TRUSTEES OF BOSTON UNIVERSITY BE LIABLE TO ANYONE FOR ANY DECISION MADE OR ACTION TAKEN IN RELIANCE ON THE MATERIALS. IN NO EVENT SHOULD THE INFORMATION IN THE MATERIALS BE USED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR PROFESSIONAL CARE.
 
COURSE VIEWING REQUIREMENTS
Supported Browsers:
Internet Explorer 9.0+ for Windows 2003, Vista, XP, Windows 7, Windows 8.1
Google Chrome 28.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
Mozilla Firefox 23.0+ for Windows, Mac OS, or Linux
Safari 6.0+ for Mac OSX 10.7 and above
 
Supported Phones & Tablets:
Android 4.0.3 and above
iPhone/iPad with iOS 6.1 or above.