OVERVIEW

The Patient and Provider Connection™: Effective Communication to Optimize the Diagnosis and Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Chronic Idiopathic Constipation is organized by Physicians' Education Resource, LLC (PER).

Release Date: October 31, 2018
Expiration Date: October 31, 2019

Target Audience:
This continuing medical education (CME) activity is intended primarily for gastroenterologists, primary care providers, OB/GYNs, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nurses, and physician’s assistants who treat patients with IBS or CIC.

Activity Overview:
Functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and chronic idiopathic constipation (CIC) have a sizeable impact on patients’ quality of life and contributive to high absenteeism from work and withdrawal from social activities. A significant obstacle to care is that the conditions go undiagnosed in most patients, so they do not seek treatment until symptoms become severe. Even when seeking treatment, however, barriers to effective communication between the patient and provider may lead to unnecessary testing and increasing frustration when a specific diagnosis is not imminent. A patient-centered approach that focuses on effective communication is associated with improved outcomes, increased patient satisfaction, and decreased utilization of care.

This activity provides comprehensive strategies for earlier diagnosis using effective communication techniques that lead to appropriate treatment and better quality of life for patients with functional GI disorders. As a Patient and Provider Connection™, 2 patient stories will illustrate the patient’s treatment experience and perspective, followed by insightful commentary from expert faculty and a patient. Effective communication tactics will be presented and then exemplified in shared decision making and effective and noneffective video examples provided by DrossmanCare. Through a partnership with the ROME foundation, diagnostic evaluation algorithms will be presented and demonstrated with patient cases using the ROME IV Interactive Clinical Decision Toolkit. This intelligent software program includes a continually updated database that incorporates the Multidimensional Clinical Profile (MDCP) texts and diagnostic algorithms in a decision pathway from patient assessment to treatment.

Educational Objectives
Upon successful completion of this educational program, you should be better prepared to:
• Identify the key symptoms and diagnostic criteria for IBS and CIC
• List the key features of mild, moderate, and severe IBS that incorporate symptom severity and psychosocial features and differentiation from CIC.
• Describe the medications used for IBS with diarrhea and IBS with constipation and CIC symptoms according to their actions and recent clinical trial data
• Outline several guidelines for establishing a therapeutic relationship that have been helping patients increase participation in their care