2007 CME Program

Women's Healthcare Forum CME programs are jointly sponsored by the Foundation for Better Health Care (FBHC) and Women's Healthcare Forum, Inc. (WHF). The FBHC is an independent nonprofit educational organization that is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Goal

The goal of the WHF is to increase awareness of gender-based differences that impact human physiology, the pathophysiology of disease, and health-related outcomes. Gender-based differences begin at conception and persist through life. For this reason, the WHF presents a global approach to healthcare designed to guide health-related strategies throughout the lifespan.


Learning Objectives

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

• Recognize the gender-based differences in disease manifestation and response to therapeutic intervention in order to diagnose, treat, and manage each patient appropriately
  • Institute of Medicine. Exploring the Biological Contributions to Human Health: Does Sex Matter? Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2001. [Evidence Level C]
• Explore advances in the evolving field of women's health and integrate state-of-the-art knowledge and evidence-based practice into preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic practice
  • Bird CE, Rieker PP. Gender matters: an integrated model for understanding men's and women's health. Soc Sci Med. 1991;48:745-755. [Evidence Level C]
  • Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB. Evidence-Based Medicine. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.
• Review key preventive measures that facilitate longevity and improve quality of care and quality of life for women
  • Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. US Preventive Services Task Force. Available at: http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfix.htm. Accessed July 19, 2005. [Evidence Level C]
• Improve communication skills to enhance a physician-patient partnership that emphasizes patient-centered care and promotes positive health behaviors
  • Stewart M, Brown JB, Donner A, et al. The impact of patient-centered care on outcomes. J Fam Pract. 2000;49:796-804. [Evidence Level C]
  • Greiner AC, Knebel E, eds. Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 2003. [Evidence Level C]

Needs Assessment

Through needs assessment surveys, literature searches, advisory board suggestions, and previous meeting evaluations, the Foundation for Better Health Care has determined a need to address the current state of knowledge regarding women's health.


Evidence-Based, Case-Based Curriculum

The evidence-based, case-based curriculum integrates pathophysiology, seminal studies and clinical guidelines, and case studies that address common yet challenging clinical scenarios. Cases illustrate when and how to initiate and optimize therapeutic interventions. Early diagnosis and early intervention are emphasized as a means to improve patient outcomes.


Content Validation

The FBHC validates the content of its CME activities through a peer review process and by utilizing evidence-based medicine sources throughout the planning and implementation of its activities. Adopting the levels of evidence used by the American Academy of Family Physicians¹ and the principles of evidence-based medicine outlined by Sackett et al,² the FBHC rates the level of evidence of the literature used to determine needs and learning objectives, as well as all data cited and presented.

All recommendations involving clinical medicine are based on evidence that is accepted within the profession of medicine as adequate justification for their indications and contraindications in the care of patients. Further, all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in support or justification of a patient care recommendation conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

Levels of Evidence¹

• Level A (randomized controlled trial [RCT]/meta-analysis)
• Level B (other evidence): A well-designed, nonrandomized clinical trial. A nonquantitative systematic review with appropriate search strategies and well-substantiated conclusions. Includes lower-quality RCTs, clinical cohort studies, and case-controlled studies with nonbiased selection of study participants and consistent findings. High-quality, historical, uncontrolled studies, or well-designed epidemiologic studies with compelling findings, are also included
• Level C (consensus/expert opinion)
  1. Siwek J, Gourlay ML, Slawson DC, Shaughnessy AF. How to write an evidence-based clinical review article. Am Fam Physician. 2002;65:251-258.
  2. Sackett DL, Straus SE, Richardson WS, Rosenberg W, Haynes RB. Evidence-Based Medicine. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, Scotland: Churchill Livingstone; 2000.

Physicians

Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education through the joint sponsorship of the Foundation for Better Health Care and Women’s Healthcare Forum. The Foundation for Better Health Care is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Foundation for Better Health Care takes responsibility for the content, quality and scientific integrity of this CME activity.’


CME Credit Designation

The Foundation for Better Health Care designates this educational activity for a maximum of 15 category 1 credits toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.


CE Credit Designation

Nurse Practitioners

This activity has been evaluated and approved by the Continuing Education Approval Program of the National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health for 14.4 contact hours of continuing education, which includes 11 pharmacology hours. Each participant should claim only those contact hours that he/she actually spent in the educational activity. Offering no. 07-02.

Nurses

This continuing nursing education activity has been approved by the New York State Nurses Association, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

It has been assigned approval code 6XTNPU-07.

Each session grants 1.1 contact hours for a maximum of 13.2 contact hours.


Identifying and Resolving Conflicts of Interest

The FBHC requires all planning committee members, faculty, teachers, authors, and staff of a CME activity to identify all relevant financial relationships that benefit the individual and his or her spouse or partner in any financial amount within the past 12 months. Such relationships may create the opportunity to affect the content of CME regarding the products or services of the commercial interest.

The FBHC has created the FBHC Committee to Identify and Resolve Conflicts of Interest, which reviews Faculty and Staff Disclosure Statements, identifies and resolves conflicts of interest, and determines the level of participation of planning committee members, faculty members, teachers, and authors.


FBHC Faculty and Staff Disclosure Policy

The Foundation for Better Health Care will disclose to participants the existence of any relevant financial relationships between faculty members, FBHC staff members, and the staffs of a Joint Sponsor and/or Educational Partner (when applicable), who planned, authored, contributed to, and/or reviewed the content of this activity, and any commercial interest discussed in this educational activity. Disclosure will occur prior to the presentation(s), either through oral communication to the audience by the moderator or chair, or written communication in the syllabus or handout material.


FBHC Disclosure

The FBHC reserves the right to substitute speakers and modify the program without notice, and will not be liable for any costs incurred by attendees as a result of Forum cancellation, including but not limited to airfare, hotel, meals, or other incidental expenses.

The FBHC does not endorse specific products of any pharmaceutical concern.


Cancellation/Substitution Policy

The FBHC will not issue refunds. If you must cancel, you may substitute another person in your place. You must make the substitution in writing to ExpoTrac, PO Box 1280, Woonsocket, RI 02895, or by fax at (401) 765-6677.


Grantors
The FBHC gratefully acknowledges the following organizations for their support of the WHF through educational grants: Abbott Immunology; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc; Daiichi Sankyo, Inc; Eli Lilly & Co; Gilead Sciences, Inc; King Pharmaceuticals, Inc; Merck & Co, Inc; Pfizer, Inc; Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc; Takeda Pharmaceuticals North America, Inc; TAP Pharmaceuticals, Inc; and Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.