OVERVIEW

The growing shortage of gastroenterology (GI) and hepatology specialists in the United States has significantly expanded the role of Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) in delivering digestive and liver disease care. However, APPs typically enter GI and hepatology practice without standardized post-graduate specialty training, leading to variability in clinical skills, diagnostic accuracy, and guideline adherence.

This educational activity equips clinicians with practical, evidence-based strategies to identify, risk-stratify, and manage chronic liver diseases. Through a case-based approach, faculty review non-invasive testing (NIT) pathways and newly approved pharmacological treatments (including thyroid hormone receptor-beta agonists and GLP-1 receptor agonists) for metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), diagnostic criteria and treatment escalation for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), and the emerging hepatology clinical trial pipeline. Additionally, the program defines clear clinical workflows to optimize multidisciplinary, team-based care and patient-monitoring protocols.

Learning Objectives:
After participating in this activity, learners will be able to:
1. Apply a risk stratification framework for identifying patients with MASH who may benefit from pharmacologic treatment.
2. Interpret non-invasive test results (FIB-4, VCTE, ELF) to guide clinical decision-making in liver disease.
3. Recognize clinical features, diagnostic criteria, and treatments for PBC in the APP practice setting.
4. Describe emerging data with practice-changing potential in hepatic diseases including MASH.
5. Explain the APP's role in multidisciplinary management of chronic liver disease, including escalation and co-management.

ACCREDITATION & CREDITS

Physician Accreditation Statement
eMedEd is an approved provider of continuing medical education by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Provider #0008305. This activity is approved for 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

Nursing Accreditation Statement:
eMedEd is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #17890 for 1 contact hour.

Release Date: Sept 7th, 2026
Expiration Date: Sept 7th, 2027

1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™

1 Contact Hours

FACULTY

Steven Flamm

MD, FAASLD, FACGGastroenterology, Transplant Hepatology, Internal Medicine

Christina Hanson

RN, BSN, FNP-CFamily Nurse Practitioner

Brian Lam

PA-CPhysician Assistants

TARGET AUDIENCE

PhysicianNursingPhysician AssistantEndocrinologistsPrimary Care PhysicianHealthcare ProfessionalsNursesGastroenterologistsHepatologistsClinical PharmacistsNurse PractitionersAdvanced Practice Providers

SPECIALITIES

GastroenterologyHepatologyPrimary CareEndocrinologyPharmacy and Medicine

DISCLAIMER

Disclosure Statement
eMedEd ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational activities. In accordance with this policy, eMedEd identifies conflicts of interest with its instructors, planners, content managers, and other individuals who can control an activity's content.

All faculty, planners, and/or content managers have nothing to disclose, nor do they have any vested interests or affiliations.

Disclaimer Statement
The content, views, and opinions presented in this educational activity are those of the faculty/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of eMedEd, Inc. The faculty/authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that the FDA does not indicate in their presentations. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

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