An Abbreviated Guide to Immunizing and Advising Travelers

Program Description:

Travelers are at risk for a variety of illnesses while abroad, especially in developing countries. As the volume of international travel continues to increase, health-care providers inevitably will encounter patients who require pre-travel care. The pre-travel health visit is an opportunity not only to administer routine and travel-related vaccines, but also to provide advice regarding the avoidance of non–vaccine-preventable illnesses and the maintenance of personal safety. Clinicians can avoid missed opportunities to provide effective pre-travel care by making it a habit to screen for travel at every patient encounter. Health-care providers who find themselves unable to conduct comprehensive pre-travel consults are urged to refer their patients to a travel health clinic or travel-medicine specialist. Using a case-based approach, this program emphasizes the importance of a proactive approach to promoting health and preventing disease among travelers.

Activity Objectives:

After taking part in this educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Effectively communicate with patients about the risks for travel-related illness and measures that can be taken to promote health and prevent disease
• Identify three Websites that provide up-to-date information regarding travel medicine
• Explain the rationale for primary-care, pediatric, and pharmacy involvement in travel medicine
• List the most common travel-related illnesses and identify those that are vaccine-preventable
• Delineate how the health risks of travelers who visit friends and relatives abroad tend to differ from those of other US travelers

Faculty:

Elizabeth D. Barnett, MD
CME Course Director
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Boston University School of Medicine
Director, International Clinic
Boston Medical Center
Boston, MA

Alan J. Magill, MD
Program Chair
President-Elect
International Society of Travel Medicine
Director, Division of Experimental Therapeutics
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research
Silver Spring, MD

Jeffery A. Goad, PharmD, MPH
Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy
University of Southern California School of Pharmacy
Los Angeles, CA

Roger J. Zoorob, MD, MPH
Professor and Chair
Department of Family and Community Medicine
Meharry Medical College
Professor and Director, Family Medicine
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Nashville, TN

Disclosures:

Boston University School of Medicine asks that all individuals involved in the development and presentation of continuing medical education (CME) activities disclose all relationships with commercial interests. This information is disclosed to CME activity participants. Boston University School of Medicine has procedures to resolve any apparent conflicts of interest. In addition, faculty members are asked to disclose when any unapproved use of pharmaceuticals and devices is being discussed.

Elizabeth D. Barnett, MD, is on the speakers’ bureau of Merck.

Alan J. Magill, MD, has nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support.

Jeffery A. Goad, PharmD, MPH, is on the speakers’ bureau of Merck.

Roger J. Zoorob, MD, MPH, is a consultant for sanofi pasteur and is on the speakers’ bureaus of Merck and sanofi pasteur.

Jason Worcester, MD, and Ilana T. Hardesty, Boston University School of Medicine, CME; Michael L. Simeone, RPh, MBA, MA, University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy Continuing Education; and Karen Bardossi and Christina Li, MPH, Haymarket Medical Education, have nothing to disclose with regard to commercial support.

An off-label use of low–molecular-weight heparin is discussed in this activity.

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.

THE VIEWS EXPRESSED IN THIS MONOGRAPH ARE THE VIEWS OF THE AUTHORS AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE OFFICIAL VIEWS OF THE US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OR THE US ARMY.

This program is sponsored by Boston University School of Medicine and the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy.

This program is supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Sanofi Pasteur Inc.

If you wish to contact Boston University School of Medicine, please email cme@bu.edu, or visit the website, http://www.bu.edu/cme. To view the privacy policy of Boston University School of Medicine, please visit http://www.bu.edu/cme/policies/privacy_policy.html

Instructions:

To obtain credit, a score of 70% or better is required. This CME is offered at no cost to participants. Please proceed with the activity until you have successfully completed this program, answered all test questions, completed the posttest survey, and have received your digital copy of your credit certificate. Your online certificate will be saved on myCME.com within your Profile/Exam History, which you can then access at any time.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
266-MHz Pentium II; Windows 98 or higher; 64 MB RAM; 800 x 600 screen resolution set for “High Color (16-Bit)”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.

MACINTOSH^® SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Power Mac g3 at 300 MHz; System 8.5 or higher (excluding Mac OSX); 96 MB RAM; 20 MB minimum hard disk space available; 800 x 600 screen resolution set to “Thousands of Colors”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.