It is estimated that about 70 million people in the United States suffer from chronic sleep problems. Lack of sleep is associated with injuries, chronic and mental illnesses, lower quality of life, loss of productivity, and higher economic burden. This complimentary activity will help clinicians recognize, diagnose, and treat the different sleep-related problems that might affect their patient’s quality of life and reduce the chronic consequences of these disorders.

This complimentary activity will provide primary care clinicians with an update on osteoporosis and bone health. Current screening guidelines, modalities, and current prevention & treatment regimens will be highlighted.

Presented by Dr. Paul Doghramji at PCN Destinations, this activity will review the latest guidelines and recommendations on cholesterol management, identify potential cholesterol-lowering therapies beyond statins and know when to utilize and recognize the indications for PCSK9 inhibitor therapy.

Approximately one in three patients have used some form of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) in the last year. Most do not share their use of unconventional care with their primary care providers. PCPs need to be aware of the prevalence of CIM use in their practice and how it can impact outcomes for better and for worse.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) affects 15% of the population. They are a challenging group whose care can often be frustrating. This activity will explain why the diagnosis of IBS in 2020 is no longer a “diagnosis of exclusion”.

In primary care, a sizable number of patients have major depressive disorder (MDD). Of these, up to three quarters are either not treated or incompletely treated. This lack of proper treatment leads to significant reduction in quality of life and carries with it increased risk of morbidity and mortality.

This activity will help the clinician identify common sleep disorders seen in primary care. You will be better able to explain the sleep/wake cycle and circadian rhythms and identify the most appropriate tools used to assess patients’ sleep health.

This activity will assist prescribers in basal insulin initiation and titration in these individuals. We will focus on treatments that allow patients to “self-titrate” their insulin doses while minimizing their risk of hypoglycemia. Barriers to insulin initiation as well as cultural concerns for insulin therapy will be addressed.

This CME activity (recorded from the live webcast held on January 16, 2019) is designed to improve knowledge, attitude and behavior surrounding the awareness, workup and management of geriatric anemia. To accomplish these goals, practical information on differentiating and managing the various causes of geriatric anemia will be presented in an interactive format using real-world clinical cases likely to be seen in primary practice.

Hypoglycemia is the rate limiting step in managing diabetes intensively. Patients who experience treatment emergent hypoglycemia are at increased risk of cardiovascular death and all-cause mortality.

Hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism are common conditions that have lifelong effects on health. In the United States, approximately 5% of adults have thyroid disease or take thyroid medication. These conditions are usually seen first in primary care settings, but they frequently go undiagnosed for years.

Gout is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis affecting 4% of US adults. In a recent study of more than 13,000 patients with gout, less than one-third (1/3) “ever” achieved target serum urate goals over an extended follow-up period. In short, gout is a problem for patients and straining healthcare systems. Although gout is a problem in primary care, there are paths leading to improved care, better outcomes, and reduced costs.

Every year, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) updates its evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes. This article summarizes the changes most relevant to primary care practice.

Although acute chest pain is the presenting complaint in less than 1% of primary care office visits, it requires immediate decisions on evaluation and management. After injuries, chest pain has been the second most common reason for adults to present to the emergency department (ED) in the United States.

Medical knowledge on the recognition and management of what is variously called “post-COVID syndrome”, “long COVID”, and multiple other descriptions is accumulating rapidly in response to an “epidemic within the pandemic”. The focus of this blog is to identify useful resources for primary care. Many of these resources are being continuously updated as knowledge evolves.

On August 24, 2021, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) revised their recommendations for type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes screening. The revision includes a recommendation that screening of all overweight and obese adults should begin at age 35 rather than age 40, per their previous recommendation in 2015.

Asthma is one of the most common conditions we see in primary care and can result in significant morbidity and mortality if not diagnosed and managed optimally. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has sponsored a consensus panel to develop clinical practice guidelines for child and adult asthma since 1989. The guidelines were updated at the end of 2020 for the first time in over a decade.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to alter our approach to patient care. Telemedicine has a century-long history of evolution, but the infrastructure for real-time broadband communication between providers and patients has only become widespread in the US over the past two decades.

There is little good news about the coronavirus pandemic in the United States; however, there are new federal government programs to reimburse healthcare providers for coronavirus testing, counseling associated with testing, and treatment of individuals not covered under any other health insurance policy.

Schizophrenia is a chronic and disabling mental illness that has affected millions of people all over the world. Schizophrenia is defined as a psychotic thought disorder characterized by a mixture of symptoms. These symptoms may involve alterations in perception, cognition, emotions, behavior, attention, concentration, motivation, and judgment.

As the world continues to face the growing issue of the coronavirus, it is important for the mental health status of all individuals who find themselves at the frontline of this pandemic to be assessed on an ongoing basis. The mental health of all individuals is important and may require evaluation.

While research on the health effects of vaping is ongoing, preliminary data indicates that it can pose risks to the heart as well as impair the normal lung function in those who were previously considered to be healthy. Ultimately, the continued use of electronic cigarettes will be determined by the ability of healthcare professionals to appropriately educate the public concerning its use and possible long-term effects.