Managing Outpatient Urgencies After the COVID-19 Lockdown

Managing Outpatient Urgencies After the COVID-19 Lockdown is organized by Continuing Education Company, Inc. (CEC).

Release Date: 6/4/2020
Expiration Date: 6/4/2021

Accreditation:
AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™: Continuing Education Company 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.

ABIM MOC: Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 1.5 Medical Knowledge 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. Please allow 6-8 weeks for your MOC points to appear on your ABIM records.

AAPA: AAPA accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society. Physician assistants may receive a maximum of 1.5 hours of Category 1 credit for completing this activity.

AANPCB: The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board (AANPCB) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Nurse Practitioners may receive a maximum of 1.5 hours of participation.

Program Overview:
The COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders have placed a strain on healthcare systems nationally and, in turn, disrupted the delivery of primary care. Clinics have been closed or operating with reduced hours. Routine office visits have been postponed and, in many cases, patients have been avoiding medical treatment over fears of catching the coronavirus. With clinics beginning to welcome patients back, there are concerns that clinicians will be faced with a surge of medical urgencies resulting from delays in patient care due to the lockdown. Chronic disorders such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease that were previously under control may now need critical attention. Some patients may not have kept up with their prescriptions. Others have frankly delayed medical attention for acute and often new conditions such as acute chest pain syndromes which may have long term consequences by avoiding evaluation.

This self-paced online course provides outpatient medical professionals with guidance on clinical decision making for challenges and dilemmas they may face as patients return to their clinics post COVID-19 shut down. A panel of experts offers strategies and guidance on how to best address these situations. Topics include triaging patients to identify level of severity for illness, including those with serious chronic medical conditions, e.g. heart disease, diabetes and lung disease. Patient evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for commonly expected conditions are also discussed.

Learning Objectives:
As a result of this educational activity, participants should be better able to:
• Evaluate, diagnose, and treat patients with chronic conditions who present with related complications developed during the COVID-19 lockdown.
• Prepare treatment plans for patients who present to the outpatient clinic, urgent care or emergency department with acute health needs in which treatment was delayed during the COVID-19 crisis.
• Detect and assess high-risk scenarios requiring referral to the emergency room or hospitalization.