Program Description:
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common condition in primary care, affecting approximately 2 million adults in the United States. If RA is left untreated, as many as 80% of affected patients will become disabled and unable to perform many of the activities of daily living. Such data have underscored the importance of early identification and treatment. By becoming cognizant of the initial signs and symptoms of RA and being able to distinguish the disease from others with similar symptoms, physician assistants can initiate pain-relief therapy early and refer patients to a rheumatologist for disease-modifying therapy in a timely manner.
Activity Objectives:
Upon completion of this program, participants will be better able to:
- Outline potential benefits of early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) diagnosis and aggressive management
- Review key clinical findings in the physical examination associated with the diagnosis of RA
- Discuss new agents in the pharmacotherapy of RA
- Describe the clinical rationale for why traditional and newer biologics have the potential to improve outcomes
- Summarize the most recent data on the efficacy and safety of the available RA agents
- Describe the pivotal role of the primary care clinician in the overall management of the patient with RA
| Credits |
Type |
Accreditation Statement |
Designation Statement |
| 1.00 |
AAPA Category I CME Credit
|
This program was planned in accordance with the AAPA’s CME Standards for Live Programs and for Commercial Support of Live Programs. |
This program has been reviewed and is approved for a maximum of 1.0 hour of AAPA Category 1 CME credit by the Physician Assistant Review Panel. |
| 1.00 |
CE for Nurses |
The American College of Nurse Practitioners is approved as a provider of continuing education in nursing by the Virginia Nurses’ Association, which is accredited as an approver of continuing education in nursing by the American Nurses’ Credentialing Centers’ Commission on Accreditation. |
This program has been approved for 1.0 hour of Continuing Education by the American College of Nurse Practitioners. |
Faculty:
Roy Fleischmann, MD
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Co-Medical Director Metroplex Clinical Research Center (MCRC)
Dallas, Texas
Nicole Furfaro, MSN, ARNP
Nurse Practitioner
Seattle Rheumatology Associates
Seattle, WA
Rick Pope MPAS, PA-C
Assistant Professor
Clinical Coordinator
Quinnipiac University PA Program
Hamden, CT
Disclosures:
Roy Fleischmann, MD, is a consultant for and receives honorarium and grant/research support from Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, Wyeth, Centocor, and Genentech. Dr. Fleischmann is also on the speaker’s bureau for Abbott Laboratories, Amgen, Genentech, and Wyeth and is a stock shareholder for Abbott Laboratories.
Nicole Furfaro, MSN, ARNP, is a consultant for Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Pfizer Inc, and Roche. Ms. Furfaro is also on the speaker’s bureau for Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genetech/Biogen Idec, and Pfizer Inc.
Rick Pope MPAS, PA-C, is a consultant for Abbott Immunology, Novartis, and Procter & Gamble Pharmaceuticals, and is on the speaker’s bureau for Novartis.
This program is supported by an educational grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.
Instructions:
Once you are finished reading through the program, please proceed to the examination page. Depending on your profession, you will be redirected to either the AAPA (for Physician Assisants) or ACNP (for Nurse Practitioners) website to complete the posttest for this activity and receive your credits.
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.