Patient Education Site
Exhibitors and Sponsors Go Here
2008Anaheim 2008Houston 2008Chicago 2008Philadelphia 2008
Join Email

Jointly Sponsored
by

FBHC

and

WHF

Online CME

Sjörgren's Syndrome



Ava J. Wu, DDS Frederick B. Vivino, MD, FACR


Sponsor: This activity is sponsored by The Foundation for Better Health Care.

Grantor: The Foundation for Better Health Care (FBHC) gratefully acknowledges Daiichi Pharmaceutical Co. for its support of this program through an educational grant to the FBHC.

Overview

Sjörgren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder of the exocrine glands. Primary SS is a serious disorder and, while relatively rare, it is the second most common autoimmune disease, impacting 1 to 4 million Americans. It occurs 10 times more often in women than in men; onset typically occurs between ages 45 and 55. Dry mouth caused by SS can lead to dental erosion, dysphagia, oral infections, and discomfort. It is of paramount importance for primary care physicians (PCPs) to recognize the etiology, types, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of SS to achieve recognition so that appropriate intervention for improved patient mortality, morbidity, and quality of life can be expedited.

Intended Audience

This activity is designed for physicians and allied health professionals, such as nurse practitioners, nurses, and physician assistants, who provide women with principal and preventative healthcare.

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 the diagnosis and management of Sjörgren's syndrome.

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



Learning Objectives

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



Accreditation

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.

Credit Designation

The Foundation for Better Health Care designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

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 1.5 contact hours of continuing education. NPWH Activity no CE 06-15. Each participant should claim only those contact hours that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

Method of Clinician Participation

View the archived symposium and complete the posttest at www.fbhc.org/cme/posttests. A minimum score of 80% must be obtained for credit to be awarded by the FBHC. There is no fee for this activity. Credit for the posttest is available until July 18, 2008.

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.

Faculty

Frederick Vivino, MD
Chief, Division of Rheumatology
PENN Presbyterian Medical Center
Director, Penn Sjögren's Syndrome Center
Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Philadelphia, PA



Ava J. Wu, DDS
Associate Clinical Professor
Co-Director, Sjögren's Syndrome Clinic
University of California, San Francisco
San Francisco, CA



Independent Reviewer

Margaret Nachtigall, MD
Assistant Professor
New York University Medical Center
New York, New York


Faculty and Reviewer Disclosures

It is the policy of The Foundation for Better Health Care to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all its sponsored educational activities. All faculty are expected to disclose to the activity audience any real or apparent conflict(s) of interest related to the content of their presentation(s). The following relationships have been disclosed:

Frederick Vivino, MD


Ava J. Wu, DDS


Margaret Nachtigall, MD


FBHC Staff Disclosure

The FBHC, in keeping with the ACCME's Essential Areas and their Elements and Standards for Commercial Support, has asked each FBHC staff member who has developed and/or reviewed content for this activity to disclose to learners all financial relationships, including those of their spouse or partner, with the manufacturer(s) of any pharmaceutical product(s), device(s), or providers of commercial services in any financial amount within the past 12 months. The FBHC staff members have disclosed the following:



Eresso Aga, Scientific Director


LaTanya Brown, Project Director


Michelle Dien, Project Director


Annika Dronge, MD, Medical Director


Susan Duff, Managing Editor


Louise Farkas, Sr. Editor/Writer


Michael Hite, CEO


Lauren Janay, Content Coordinator


Nancy Larsen, Consultant


Nina Leeds, PhD, Scientific Director


Andrew McCrea, PhD, Executive Director


Natacha Menar, Sr. Editor/Writer


Sejal Patel, Senior Account Manager


Judy Seraphine, Consultant


Simone Stromer, MD, Medical Director


Emilie Wang, PhD, Scientific Director


Diane Zuckerman, RPh, Consultant


FBHC Disclosure Statement

The views expressed are those of the author(s). It should not be inferred or assumed that this publication expresses the views of Daiichi Sankyo, or any other manufacturer of pharmaceuticals. The Foundation for Better Health Care (FBHC) is an independent professional organization that does not endorse specific products of any pharmaceutical concern. This FBHC CME activity has been independently planned by the FBHC.

All rights reserved, including translation into other languages. No part of this Webcast may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or storage in information storage and retrieval systems-without permission in writing from The Foundation for Better Health Care, 33 East 33nd Street, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
Back to the Top


Release date:
July 18, 2007

Expiration date:
July 18, 2008

Estimated time to complete:
1.5 hours

© Women's Healthcare Forum | Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy