Getting to the Gut of the Matter: Closing the Gaps in Diagnosis, Effective Treatment, and Comprehensive Care in IBS and CIC

Getting to the Gut of the Matter: Closing the Gaps in Diagnosis, Effective Treatment, and Comprehensive Care in IBS and CIC is organized by CME Outfitters, LLC and will be held from Jul 17, 2018 - Jul 17, 2019.

Target Audience:
Gastroenterologists, primary care physicians, gynecologists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, and pharmacists who treat patients with IBS and CIC.

Credit Information:
CME Credit (Physicians):
CME Outfitters, LLC designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CNE Credit (Nurses):
Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number CEP 15510, for 1.5 contact hours 

Note to Nurse Practitioners and Clinical Nurse Specialists: the content of this activity pertains to pharmacology. Earn up to 1.5 contact hours of pharmacotherapeutic contact hours. 

CPE Credit (Pharmacists):
ACPE CME Outfitters, LLC, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEUs).

ABIM/MOC Credit: 
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.5 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit. 

Statement of Need:
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common diagnosis in clinical gastroenterology, affecting approximately ten to fifteen percent of the general adult population. IBS and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) are disorders of gut-brain interaction; they are debilitating, often misunderstood, and a challenge to diagnose and manage. 

Shame and embarrassment are often core components affecting patients seeking treatment for their bowel symptoms. Therefore, this enduring material integrates a patient into a faculty panel to provide clinicians with strategies to enhance patient-provider communication to engage patients in discussions about their bowel health and patient-centric treatment strategies that promote symptomatic relief. The use of video vignettes of realistic patient-provider interactions will reflect the variability in symptom presentation, patient preferences or reluctance to move beyond OTC treatments, and treatment selection encountered in routine practice. Following each video vignette, learners will be asked to make decisions regarding the case scenario followed by a discussion among the clinical faculty and patient faculty to address variabilities in patient vs. clinician perspectives to enhance optimal management approaches with the goal of providing strategies to enhance communication and improve patient outcomes.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this CE activity, participants should be able to:
• Improve the diagnostic accuracy of IBS and CIC through patient queries, patient-centered communication, and use of diagnostic tools.
• Apply evidence-based treatment strategies for symptomatic relief of IBS and CIC in patients experiencing residual symptoms after initial dietary and OTC approaches fail.
• Promote collaborative care strategies that facilitate comprehensive management of IBS and CIC, including early initiation of care and optimal long-term management.
The following learning objectives pertain only to those requesting CNE or CPE credit:
• Explain the diagnostic accuracy of IBS and CIC through patient queries, patient-centered communication, and use of diagnostic tools.
• Describe evidence-based treatment strategies for symptomatic relief of IBS and CIC in patients experiencing residual symptoms after initial dietary and OTC approaches fail.
• Explain collaborative care strategies that facilitate comprehensive management of IBS and CIC, including early initiation of care and optimal long-term management.

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.