This is a comprehensive, 100-hour continuing education program designed to strengthen physician associates'/assistants' knowledge and clinical decision-making across a broad range of common and complex conditions affecting adult health. The curriculum integrates evidence-based approaches to cardiovascular and metabolic disease, musculoskeletal and neurologic disorders, behavioral health, pain and substance-related concerns, and ethical and end-of-life care. Topics include heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, overweight and obesity, osteoporosis, back pain, Parkinson disease, behavioral addictions, opioid safety, anabolic steroid use, medical ethics, and counseling patients and families at the end of life. The program also addresses the evidence, safety considerations, and potential drug interactions associated with natural medicines and dietary supplements used for depression, anxiety, and weight loss. Emphasizing whole-person care, this program equips physician assistants to apply current evidence and clinical principles to the assessment, management, counseling, and ongoing care of diverse adult patients.
- 1. Part I— Treatment of Heart Failure: An Update — 10 CREDITS
- 2. Part II — Hypertension: Strategies to Improve Outcomes — 5 CREDITS
- 3. Part III — Low Back Pain — 15 CREDITS
- 4. Part IV — Alternative Therapies for Depression and Anxiety — 5 CREDITS
- 5. Part V — Medical and Illicit Use of Anabolic Steroids — 5 CREDITS
- 6. Part VI — Supplements for Weight Loss — 5 CREDITS
- 7. Part VII — Type 2 Diabetes: Treatment Strategies for Optimal Care — 5 CREDITS
- 8. Part VIII — Diagnosing and Treating Overweight and Obese Patients — 5 CREDITS
- 9. Part IX — Osteoporosis: Diagnosis and Management — 5 CREDITS
- 10. Part X — Behavioral Addictions — 15 CREDITS
- 11. Part XI — Parkinson Disease — 10 CREDITS
- 12. Part XII — Counseling Patients at the End of Life — 5 CREDITS
- 13. Part XIII — Medical Ethics for Physicians — 5 CREDITS
- 14. Part XIV — Opioid Safety: Balancing Benefits and Risks — 5 CREDITS
This course is designed for physician assistants and interested healthcare professionals.
Patricia Lea, RN, DNP, MSEd, CCRN, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing in 1973 from Houston Baptist University in Houston, Texas. She returned to graduate school to complete a Master’s degree in Education, specifically Health Education, in 1996 from Baylor University in Waco, Texas, and a Doctorate in Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership in 2014 from American Sentinel University in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Lea specializes in critical care nursing, with an emphasis on heart failure and sepsis. She started her career at the Houston Methodist Hospital in the cardiovascular ICU and opened an acute dialysis unit at what is now Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in the Houston Medical Center. Dr. Lea was a Cardiovascular Clinical Coordinator and Director of the Heart Failure Clinic at Hillcrest Baptist Medical Center in Waco, Texas. In 2004, Dr. Lea returned to Houston and was employed as a Senior Research Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Texas Heart Institute coordinating stem cell and cardiac stent trials. She is currently Associate Professor and Baccalaureate Program Director at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing in Galveston, Texas.
John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, is currently the Chief Medical Officer at WebMD. In this role, he leads efforts to develop and expand strategic partnerships that create meaningful change around important and timely public health issues. Previously, Dr. Whyte was the Director of Professional Affairs and Stakeholder Engagement at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the Chief Medical Expert and Vice President, Health and Medical Education at Discovery Channel, part of the media conglomerate Discovery Communications.
Prior to this, Dr. Whyte was in the Immediate Office of the Director at the Agency for Healthcare Research Quality. He served as Medical Advisor/Director of the Council on Private Sector Initiatives to Improve the Safety, Security, and Quality of Healthcare. Prior to this assignment, Dr. Whyte was the Acting Director, Division of Medical Items and Devices in the Coverage and Analysis Group in the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). CMS is the federal agency responsible for administering the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In his role at CMS, Dr.Whyte made recommendations as to whether or not the Medicare program should pay for certain procedures, equipment, or services. His division was responsible for durable medical equipment, orthotics/prosthetics, drugs/biologics/therapeutics, medical items, laboratory tests, and non-implantable devices. As Division Director as well as Medical Officer/Senior Advisor, Dr. Whyte was responsible for more national coverage decisions than any other CMS staff.
Dr. Whyte is a board-certified internist. He completed an internal medicine residency at Duke University Medical Center as well as earned a Master’s of Public Health (MPH) in Health Policy and Management at Harvard University School of Public Health. Prior to arriving in Washington, Dr. Whyte was a health services research fellow at Stanford and attending physician in the Department of Medicine. He has written extensively in the medical and lay press on health policy issues.
Mark Rose, BS, MA, LP, is a licensed psychologist in the State of Minnesota with a private consulting practice and a medical research analyst with a biomedical communications firm. Earlier healthcare technology assessment work led to medical device and pharmaceutical sector experience in new product development involving cancer ablative devices and pain therapeutics. Along with substantial experience in addiction research, Mr. Rose has contributed to the authorship of numerous papers on CNS, oncology, and other medical disorders. He is the lead author of papers published in peer-reviewed addiction, psychiatry, and pain medicine journals and has written books on prescription opioids and alcoholism published by the Hazelden Foundation. He also serves as an Expert Advisor and Expert Witness to law firms that represent disability claimants or criminal defendants on cases related to chronic pain, psychiatric/substance use disorders, and acute pharmacologic/toxicologic effects. Mr. Rose is on the Board of Directors of the Minneapolis-based International Institute of Anti-Aging Medicine and is a member of several professional organizations.
Chelsey McIntyre, PharmD, is a clinical pharmacist who specializes in drug information, literature analysis, and medical writing. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics from the University of California, Davis. She then went on to complete her PharmD at Creighton University, followed by a clinical residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Dr. McIntyre held the position of Drug Information and Policy Development Pharmacist at CHOP until her move to Washington state in 2017, after which she spent the next six years as a clinical editor for Natural Medicines, a clinical reference database focused on natural products and alternative therapies. She continues to create rigorous professional analysis and patient education materials for various publications while also practicing as a hospital pharmacist. Her professional interests include provider and patient education, as well as the application of evidence-based research to patient care.
Lisa Hutchison, LMHC, has more than 20 years of experience providing individual and group counseling with adults. She specifically focuses on teaching assertiveness, stress management, and boundary setting for empathic helpers. Ms. Hutchison graduated from the University of Massachusetts, Boston, with a Master’s degree in education for mental health counseling.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Contributing faculty, Patricia Lea, RN, DNP, MSEd, CCRN, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, John J. Whyte, MD, MPH, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, Mark Rose, BS, MA, LP, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, Chelsey McIntyre, PharmD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, Lisa Hutchison, LMHC, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Contributing faculty, John M. Leonard, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John V. Jurica, MD, MPH
John M. Leonard, MD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
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#41970: The Adult Patient: Evidence-Based Care for Mind and Body
Part 2 of 14 · Chapter 1 of 9
Table of Contents
The purpose of this course is to provide healthcare professionals with the information necessary to develop treatment regimens associated with optimal adherence and provide adequate patient education, counseling, and support to patients with hypertension.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Apply epidemiologic trends in hypertension to current practice so at-risk patient populations can be more easily identified, assessed, and treated.
- Utilize knowledge of the pathophysiology of hypertension to create comprehensive treatment strategies that target critical pathways in disease development and progression.
- Identify the nonpharmacologic interventions for hypertension that are supported by contemporary evidence and are in adherence with guideline recommendations.
- Discuss the risks and benefits of pharmacologic approaches to hypertension management.
- Describe strategies to improve patient adherence to hypertension medication by developing treatment regimens associated with optimal adherence and providing adequate patient education, counseling, and support.
- Analyze necessary modifications in hypertension treatment for special populations.
Hypertension is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality and a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) as well as stroke, end-stage renal failure, and peripheral vascular disease [1,2,3,4]. The majority (approximately 75%) of adults with CVD comorbidities have hypertension, and poor control of hypertension further exacerbates CVD risk [4,5]. Hypertension is also associated with shorter overall life expectancy [6]. The goals of hypertensive management are to reduce elevated blood pressure, reduce overall cardiovascular risk, and prevent end-organ damage [3]. These goals can be effectively accomplished through lifestyle interventions, diet, exercise, and appropriate pharmacologic treatment.
While the rates of blood pressure control in hypertensive patients have improved, the management of hypertension remains far from optimal. As of 2020, only 48.3% of all adults with hypertension had adequately controlled blood pressure [1]. One reason for this is poor adherence to antihypertensive medications. About half of patients being treated discontinue their antihypertensive medications within one year [7]. A study of older adults found that 14.1% had low medication adherence and 27.0% had a non-persistent medication possession ratio, reflecting an extended amount of time between prescription fills; 33.7% of the patients studied had uncontrolled blood pressure [8]. Moreover, although certain patient populations (e.g., older adults, non-Hispanic Black Americans, patients with diabetes and/or chronic kidney disease [CKD]) are experiencing higher rates of antihypertensive treatment, they continue to experience high rates of inadequately controlled blood pressure [9]. Importantly, continued efforts are needed to close treatment gaps and establish the benefits of antihypertensive therapy in all patients with hypertension.
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Part 2 of 14 · Chapter 1 of 9
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