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Effective Practice Strategies to Achieve Earlier RA Diagnosis and Faster Initiation of Care

Rheumatology
Curriculum:
Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Importance of Early Diagnosis and Timely Access to Treatment
Credits:
0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™
Launch Date:
December 28, 2017
Expiration Date:
The accreditation for this activity has expired.

Primary Audience:

Rheumatologists and other rheumatology clinicians

Relevant Terms:

Early diagnosis, DMARDs, EULAR, "Don't Delay, Connect Today", World Arthritis Day

Iain B. McInnes, MD, PhD

Iain B. McInnes, MD, PhD
Muirhead Chair of Medicine
Director of the Institute of Infection, Immunity, and Inflammation
University of Glasgow
Glasgow, Scotland

Iain McInnes is Professor of Experimental Medicine / Director of Research Institute (Immunology) and Muirhead Chair of Medicine & Director of Institute (School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing). Professor McInnes has a major interest in the biology of inflammatory synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and septic arthritis. He operates a translational science programme in which state of the art cellular and molecular biology techniques area applied to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the perpetuation of synovial inflammation. In parallel they have an extensive clinical trials facility in which they perform studies of novel biologic agents in inflammatory arthritis.
 
 
 

Marc D. Cohen, MD

Marc D. Cohen, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Adjunct Professor of Medicine
Division of Rheumatology
National Jewish Health
Denver, Colorado

Marc D Cohen, MD, is Professor of Medicine, and Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. He attended medical school at George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, DC, and went on to complete an internship in Internal Medicine at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, a residency in Internal Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a fellowship in Rheumatology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Dr. Cohen is a fellow of the Arthritis and Rheumatism Association, an associate of the American College of Physicians, and a member of the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine. In addition, he was awarded Teacher of the Year 11 years consecutively, and was the first member of the Teacher of the Year Hall of Fame at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Dr. Cohen has presented at meetings and symposia around the world, and has authored over 50 articles in journals such as Arthritis & Rheumatism. He is currently an advisory editor for Arthritis & Rheumatism. Dr. Cohen has also authored several book chapters on rheumatology and on medical education. As Chairman of the Division of Rheumatology, he hopes to institute new programs to promote clinical research in rheumatology at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center. Additionally, he plans to initiate a new strategic plan that promises a seamless experience for patients while moving through the National Jewish Medical and Research Center system. Dr. Cohen is committed to supporting investigations that achieve the highest quality of research and education.

Jeffrey R. Curtis, MD

Jeffrey R. Curtis, MD
Professor of Medicine
The William J. Koopman Endowed Professor in Rheumatology and Immunology
Director, Arthritis Clinical Intervention Program
University of Alabama, Birmingham

Dr. Jeffrey Curtis is a Professor of Medicine in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Dr. Curtis received a Medical Degree (MD) and a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree from Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland, OR. He subsequently completed a residency in internal medicine at Oregon Health & Science University and a fellowship in rheumatology at UAB. He completed a graduate program in Clinical Informatics at Stanford University and received his Master of Science (MS) degree in epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. He is board certified in both rheumatology and clinical informatics.
Dr. Curtis currently holds the William J. Koopman Endowed Professorship in Rheumatology and Immunology at UAB. He is the Co-Director of the UAB Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs) of Musculoskeletal Disorders, which has a major emphasis on evaluating the safety and comparative effectiveness of medications for rheumatic diseases. Additionally, as the Director of the UAB Arthritis Clinical Intervention Program, he leads the clinical trials unit for the rheumatology division at UAB, with a particular focus on rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). He is the Co-Director of the UAB Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Research (PEER) Unit. PEER uses multiple large data sources to study comparative effectiveness questions across multiple chronic diseases. These data sources include national administrative data from Medicare and commercial health plans, electronic health record data, and large registries. In 2012, he was awarded the Henry Kunkel Young Investigator Award by the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and was accepted into the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) in 2016.
The evaluation of the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and safety of the medications used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and spondyloarthritis are among Dr. Curtis's research interests. He served on the Core Expert Panel for the ACR's 2008, 2012, and 2015 Recommendations for the Use of Nonbiologic and Biologic Disease Modifying Antirheumatic Drugs in RA. He was the Deputy Director for a collaborative project between the FDA, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and a number of academic centers studying the safety of biologic agents using multiple, pooled national data sources. He is the Co-PI of the PCORI-funded Patient Powered Research Network "Arthritis-Power" registry, focused on RA, psoriasis, and psoriatic arthritis. He also leads the multi-center NIH-funded large pragmatic randomized controlled trial "VERVE" studying the safety and effectiveness of the live herpes zoster vaccine in patients receiving biologic agents. He is a member of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) Herpes Zoster workgroup. In 2015, he was appointed as a member to the FDA Arthritis Advisory Committee.
Dr. Curtis also studies risk factors for and outcomes of osteoporosis. He was a member of the ACR's task force to update recommendations for the management of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis (GIOP). He served on the ASBMR Task Force on Atypical Subtrochanteric and Diaphyseal Fractures.
Dr. Curtis is a member of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), the International Society for Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE), the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), and the American Society of Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR). He has been on the editorial board for Arthritis & Rheumatism, Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety (PDS) and Arthritis Care and Research (AC&R). He has authored more than 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts, review articles and book chapters.
1. Design appropriate evidence-based strategies for increasing the timeliness both of the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and the initiation of treatment

Program Overview
Delays in diagnoses and early intervention of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA), can cause unnecessary disease progression, reduce chances of remission, decrease patients' quality of life, increase co-morbidities, reduce life expectancy, and increase the added cost burden on global healthcare systems. A growing body of evidence supports the concept of a window of opportunity (3 to 6 months after onset of symptoms) during which initiating treatment for RA can relieve symptoms, minimize comorbidities, and reduce the risk for progression and long-term disability. Global medical society guidelines have been revised recently to underscore the importance of earlier diagnosis of RA and to encourage the earlier use of disease modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) involving a treat-to-target strategy. Clinicians need education about these developments, about the use of established and emerging therapeutic agents for RA, and about strategies for preparing their practices to better manage patients earlier in the course of rheumatic disease.

 
 
Joint Accreditation Statement
 

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and Global Academy for Medical Education. Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

 
 

Physician Continuing Medical Education

The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of .50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 
Term of Offering
This activity was released on December 28, 2017 and is valid for one year. Requests for credit must be made no later than December 27, 2018.
  
Instructions for Obtaining Credit
In order to receive credit, participants must complete the online evaluation and post-test at the end of this program. Participants must also score at least a 70% on the post-test. Statements of credit will be issued upon completion of the evaluation and post-test. 

Fee Information & Refund/Cancellation Policy
There is no fee for this educational activity.
 
Disclosure Declarations
Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires instructors, planners, managers and other individuals and their spouse/life partner who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to PIM policy. PIM is committed to providing its learners with high-quality CME/CE 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:
 

Name of Faculty or Presenter Reported Financial Relationship
Marc Cohen, MD Has nothing to disclose.
Iain McInnes, FRCP, PhD, FRSE, FMedSci Consultant: AbbVie; Galapagos Pharma; Lilly; Pfizer. Grant/Research Support: Bristol- Myers Squibb; Janssen; Pfizer; UCB.
Jeffrey Curtis, MD Consultant: AbbVie, Amgen, Bristol- Myers Squibb, Crescendo Bioscience, Inc, CORRONA, Ortho-McNeil- Janssen Pharmaceutical Company, Pfizer Inc., and UCB. Grant/Research Support: AbbVie Inc, Amgen, Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Crescendo Bioscience, Inc, CORRONA, Ortho-McNeil- Janssen Pharmaceutical Company, Roche/Genentech, Pfizer Inc., and UCB.

 
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/CE activity:
 

Name of Planner or Manager Reported Financial Relationship
Mike LoPresti Nothing to disclose
Margaret McLaughlin, PhD Nothing to disclose
Ron Schaumburg Nothing to disclose

 
Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the US Food and Drug Administration. 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 any organization associated with this activity. 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 in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer's product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

Commercial Support Statement
This activity is supported by an educational grant from Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.
 
Copyright © 2017 by Global Academy for Medical Education, LLC, Frontline Medical Communications Inc., and its Licensors. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without prior written permission of the Publisher. Global Academy for Medical Education, LLC, and Postgraduate Institute for Medicine will not assume responsibility for damages, loss, or claims of any kind arising from or related to the information contained in this publication, including any claims related to the products, drugs, or services mentioned herein.
 
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