Track 1: Anticoagulation Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Stroke Prevention
Track 2: Therapeutic Advances for the Management of Thrombosis: Navigating the New Paradigm
Track 3: Anticoagulation Pharmacy Management: Balancing Safety, Cost, and Outcome in a Managed Care Setting

• Release date: August 31, 2011
• Expiration date: February 28, 2013
• Estimated time to complete activity: 0.8 hours for Track 1; 0.8 hours for Track 2; 0.8 hours for Track 3

Target Audience:

• Medical directors, pharmacy directors, clinical pharmacists, quality directors, and network physicians affiliated with managed care organizations
• Case managers, policy administrators, utilization managers, IT professionals, nurses, and other managed care health professionals

Purpose Statement:

Managed care pharmacists and affiliated clinicians involved in the care for patients at risk for thromboembolic disorders are routinely challenged with multiple sets of anticoagulation guidelines and protocols specific to their individual hospital, anticoagulation clinic, and/or third party payer settings. This can lead to unexpected barriers to care, disrupt communication between care givers, and lead to inconsistency in the delivery of care. Evidence-based practices and consistent guidelines for screening, preventing, diagnosing, tracking, and treating thromboembolic disorders are needed, especially for patients at higher risk, to ensure that these practices are routinely applied by health care professionals in all settings.

Managed care organizations are in an excellent position to collaborate in the management of thromboembolic disorders. With access to data and methods for care coordination, they can help manage patients’ expectations and aversion to burdensome anticoagulation therapy. Managed care professionals and all members of a patient care team need to learn how to adapt their current approaches and roles as providers in order to implement new treatment regimens that emphasize a more convenient and patient-centered approach for anticoagulation therapy.

Educational Objective (Track 1)
After completing this knowledge-based activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Describe evidence-based clinical practice guidelines for thromboprophylaxis in atrial fibrillation

Educational Objective (Track 2)
After completing this knowledge-based activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Explain recent advances in thromboprophylactic therapy including patient risks and benefits of emerging anticoagulants compared with standard treatments

Educational Objective (Track 3)
After completing this knowledge-based activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Outline managed care strategies that incorporate evolving treatment guidelines, therapies, and implementation processes to improve outcomes for patients at risk of thromboembolic events

Distinguished Faculty (Track 1)

James B. Groce III, PharmD, CACP Professor, Campbell University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine, UNC Clinical Pharmacy Specialist-Anticoagulation Moses Cone Health System Click here for biography

Distinguished Faculty (Track 2)

Albert L. Waldo, MD The Walter H. Pritchard Professor of Cardiology, Professor of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering Case Western Reserve University Harrington-McLaughlin Heart & Vascular Institute University Hospitals-Case Medical Center Click here for biography

Distinguished Faculty (Track 3)

Jeffrey D. Dunn, PharmD, MBA Formulary and Contract Manager Select Health, Inc. Click here for biography

Activity Agenda (Track 1)

Anticoagulation Therapy in Atrial Fibrillation: Clinical Practice Guidelines for Stroke Prevention
James B. Groce III, PharmD, CACP

Activity Agenda (Track 2)

Therapeutic Advances for the Management of Thrombosis: Navigating the New Paradigm
Albert L. Waldo, MD

Activity Agenda (Track 3)

Anticoagulation Pharmacy Management: Balancing Safety, Cost, and Outcome in a Managed Care Setting
Jeffrey D. Dunn, PharmD, MBA

Continuing Education (Track 1)

Statement of Credit-Participants who successfully complete this knowledge-based activity (including scoring at least 70% on the learning assessment and completing and submitting the evaluation form) will be issued a statement of credit. This statement of credit will be made available immediately.

	Physicians. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Meniscus Educational Institute designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

	Pharmacists. This educational activity is sponsored by the Meniscus Educational Institute. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The ACPE Universal Activity Number assigned to this program, for 0.8 contact hours (0.08 CEUs), is 0429-9999-11-008-H04-P.

Continuing Education (Track 2)

Statement of Credit-Participants who successfully complete this knowledge-based activity (including scoring at least 70% on the learning assessment and completing and submitting the evaluation form) will be issued a statement of credit. This statement of credit will be made available immediately.

	Physicians. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Meniscus Educational Institute designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

	Pharmacists. This educational activity is sponsored by the Meniscus Educational Institute. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The ACPE Universal Activity Number assigned to this program, for 0.8 contact hours (0.08 CEUs), is 0429-9999-11-009-H04-P.

Continuing Education (Track 3)

Statement of Credit-Participants who successfully complete this knowledge-based activity (including scoring at least 70% on the learning assessment and completing and submitting the evaluation form) will be issued a statement of credit. This statement of credit will be made available immediately.

	Physicians. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Meniscus Educational Institute designates this enduring material for a maximum of 0.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits^TM. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

	Pharmacists. This educational activity is sponsored by the Meniscus Educational Institute. The Meniscus Educational Institute is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The ACPE Universal Activity Number assigned to this program, for 0.8 contact hours (0.08 CEUs), is 0429-9999-11-010-H04-P.

Financial Disclosures

All individuals in positions to control the content of this program (eg, planners, faculty, content reviewers) are expected to disclose all financial relationships with commercial interests that may have a direct bearing on the subject matter of this continuing education activity. Participants have the responsibility to assess the impact (if any) of the disclosed information on the educational value of the activity. All faculty have been offered a modest honorarium from the accredited provider for their participation in this activity.

Jeffrey D. Dunn, PharmD, MBA, Faculty, serves as a consultant or advisor for ChemGenex, Genomic Health, and Celgene Corporation.
James B. Groce III, PharmD, Faculty, serves as a consultant or advisor for Boehringer Ingelheim, Ortho-McNeil, and Sanofi-Aventis; receives honoraria from Boehringer Ingelheim, Ortho-McNeil, and Sanofi-Aventis.
Albert L. Waldo, MD, Faculty, serves as a consultant or advisor for Biotronik, St. Jude Medical, Daiichi Sankyo, Medtronic Ablation Frontiers, Astellas Pharma, Biosense Webster, Sanofi-Aventis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Portola, Ortho-McNeil-Janssen, Boehringer Ingelheim, CardioInsight, Merck, and AtriCure; serves as a speaker for Sanofi-Aventis.
David H. Vesole, MD, PhD, Faculty, serves as a consultant or advisor for Celgene Corporation, and receives honoraria from Celgene Corporation, Millennium Pharmaceuticals, and Onyx.
Karen Abbas, RN, MS, AOCN, Project Director, has nothing to disclose.
Carol Balmer, PharmD, BCOP, Education Committee Reviewer, has nothing to disclose.
Paul B. Gilman, MD, Education Committee Reviewer, has nothing to disclose.
Steve Casebeer, MBA, Planner, has nothing to disclose.

Disclaimer

This activity has been designed to provide continuing education that is focused on specific objectives. In selecting educational activities clinicians should pay special attention to the relevance of those objectives and the application to their particular needs. The intent of all Meniscus Educational Institute educational opportunities is to provide learning that will improve patient care. Clinicians are encouraged to reflect on this activity and its applicability to their own patient population.

The opinions expressed in this activity are those of the faculty and reviewers and do not represent an endorsement by MEI or the companies providing educational grant support of any specific therapeutics or approaches to diagnosis or patient management.

Product Disclosure

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. For additional information about approved uses, including approved indications, contraindications, and warnings, please refer to the prescribing information for each product.

There are no fees for participating in these activities.