Case 3: Patient With Established RA and Cardiovascular Risk Factors Who Is Not Responding to Traditional DMARDs

Jointly provided by

   Einstein

This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from Pfizer.

Medium: CME Enduring Material Online
Release date: 8/4/2015
Expiration date: 8/4/2016
Estimated time to complete: 30 minutes

Overview

Many therapies are available to treat rheumatoid arthritis (RA) but few achieve remission in more than 50% of patients and even fewer achieve remission that lasts longer than one year. Choosing an appropriate therapy for a given patient­—that is, individualizing treatment—is dependent on such considerations as risk factors, insurance coverage, and patient choice. Additionally, determining the effectiveness of treatment requires use of appropriate disease activity assessment tools, an area that has been shown to be a challenge for many rheumatologists.

Case 3 introduces you to Patrick Hunter, who finds himself at the Virtual Practice for a second opinion about his RA. Patrick was diagnosed three years ago and has not been able to taper his prednisone without experiencing a flare. Patrick also has cardiovascular risk factors that must be considered. This activity examines the use of RA therapies in patients with pre-existing risk factors, the use of objective tools to measure disease severity, and best strategies for approaching patient-management issues. This activity also features the Resource Library, which houses tools that can aid clinicians in RA disease activity assessment and patient management.

Faculty

Joel M. Kremer, MD—Program Chair
Pfaff Family Professor of Medicine
Albany Medical College
Director of Research
The Center for Rheumatology
Albany, New York

Allan Gibofsky, MD
Professor of Medicine
Weill Cornell Medical College
New York, New York

Yusuf Yazici, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine
NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases
New York, New York

Peer Reviewer

Chaim Putterman, MD
Professor, Department of Medicine (Rheumatology)
Professor, Department of Microbiology & Immunology
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine
Montefiore Medical Center
Bronx, New York

Target Audience

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of rheumatologists and other clinicians who provide care to patients with RA.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

  • Utilize clinically relevant assessment tools to assess disease activity and identify remission in patients with RA
  • Develop an effective treatment plan that utilizes strategies to optimize the efficacy and safety of established therapies in RA

Accreditation and Credit Designation

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 Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and RedMedEd. Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy

The "Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy" of Albert Einstein College of Medicine requires that faculty participating in any CME activity disclose to the audience any relationship with a pharmaceutical or equipment company. Any presenter whose disclosed relationships prove to create a conflict of interest with regard to their contribution to the activity will not be permitted to present.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine also requires that faculty participating in any CME activity disclose to the audience when discussing any unlabeled or investigational use of any commercial product or device not yet approved for use in the United States.

Victor B. Hatcher, PhD, and the staff of the Center for Continuing Medical Education of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have no conflict of interest with commercial interests related directly or indirectly to this educational activity.

The RedMedEd staff members involved in the development and review of this activity have disclosed no relevant financial relationships:
Denise LaTemple, PhD, Director, Scientific Services
Lauren Showers, Project Manager
Jonathan S. Simmons, ELS, Senior Managing Editor
Karen Smith, Creative Director

Faculty Disclosures

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests relevant to the content of this CME activity:

Joel M. Kremer, MD, reported a financial interest/relationship or affiliation in the form of:
Grants/Research Funding: AbbVie, Genentech, Lilly, Pfizer
Consultant: Bristol Myers-Squibb, Lilly, Pfizer, Sanofi
Dr. Kremer has indicated that his relationships will not impact his ability to author an unbiased presentation.

Allan Gibofsky, MD, reported a financial interest/relationship or affiliation in the form of:
Consultant: AbbVie, Amgen, Antmes, Celgene, Genentech, Horizon, Iroko, Pfizer
Stakeholder: AbbVie, Amgen, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson
Speakers Bureau: AbbVie, Amgen, Celgene, Iroko, Pfizer
Dr. Gibofsky has indicated that his relationships will not impact his ability to author an unbiased presentation.

Yusuf Yazici, MD, reported a financial interest/relationship or affiliation in the form of:
Grants/Research Funding: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech
Consultant: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Genentech
Dr. Yazici has indicated that his relationships will not impact his ability to author an unbiased presentation.

Chaim Putterman, MD, has reported that he does not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related directly or indirectly to the content of this activity during the past 12 months.

Unapproved Product 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. Albert Einstein College of Medicine, RedMedEd, and Pfizer do not recommend the use of any agent outside the labeled indications.

The faculty have indicated that this enduring material does not include discussion of the unlabeled/investigational use of a commercial product or device.

Disclaimer

The information presented in this activity is for continuing medical education purposes only and is not meant to substitute for the independent medical judgment of a physician regarding diagnosis and treatment of a specific patient’s medical condition.

The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Montefiore Medical Center, RedMedEd, or Pfizer. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Method of Participation

There is no fee to participate in this activity. Participants must review all activity information, including the learning objectives, disclosure statements, and content. To receive CME credit for participation, participants must complete the posttest (achieving a grade of 70% or greater) and program evaluation. Certificates can be printed immediately.

If you have questions about this CME activity, please contact Albert Einstein College of Medicine at (718) 920-6674 or cme@montefiore.org.

For technical questions related to this activity, please contact RedMedEd at (610) 251-6841 or education@redmeded.com.

Hardware/Software Requirements

  • Apple iPad or iPad mini (iOS 7 or higher) with an Internet connection
  • A computer with an Internet connection
    • Internet browser: Google Chrome, Internet Explorer 9 or higher, Firefox 26 or higher, or Safari 5 or higher
    • Additional software: Adobe Flash Player and/or an HTML 5-capable browser is required for video or audio playback; Adobe Acrobat Reader may occasionally be required

Privacy

Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Center for Continuing Medical Education (Einstein) protects the privacy of personal and other information regarding participants and educational collaborators. Einstein will not release personally identifiable information to a third party without the individual's consent, except such information as is required for reporting purposes to the ACCME.

Einstein maintains physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of information collected from you.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2015 Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and RedMedEd. All rights reserved. No part of this material may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations.