Examining the Latest Therapies and Quality Improvement Strategies for Heart Failure

• Release Date: April 30, 2017
• Expiration Date: October 31, 2018
• Estimated Time to Complete Activity: 1.5 hour
• Compatible with all modern browsers and mobile devices

DISTINGUISHED FACULTY

Akshay S. Desai, MD, MPH Director, Heart Failure Disease Management Program Advanced Heart Disease Section, Cardiovascular Division Brigham and Women's Hospital Associated Professor of Medicine Harvard Medical School Click here for biography James Jorgenson, MS, RPh, FASHP Chief Executive Officer Board Chair Visante, Inc. Click here for biography Jo Ellen Rodgers, PharmD, FCCP, BCPS-AQ Associate Director, Clinical Fellowship Programs Clinical Associate Professor UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy Click here for biography

TARGET AUDIENCE

• This activity is designed to meet the educational needs of health-system pharmacy professionals.

STATEMENT OF NEED/PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Heart failure (HF) is the leading cause of hospitalization among adults >65 years of age in the United States. HF-associated hospitalization represents a noteworthy driver of health care-related costs as well as a surrogate marker for increasing mortality. Rehospitalization, despite improvement in outcomes with medical therapy, is also not uncommon: at least half of patients are readmitted to the hospital within 6 months of discharge. This exemplifies a key area of interest for health care decision makers across all disease states, since reducing readmission rates also reduces costs and indicates an improvement in the quality of care.

As the health care environment continues to evolve, a focus on comprehensive and collaborative disease management will assume a more prominent role within health care organizations. The rise of emerging care models such as the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) and accountable care organizations (ACOs) serve to highlight these changes. This symposium will provide health-system pharmacy professionals with the latest clinical updates and quality improvement strategies for HF to remain at the forefront of the industry and improve patient outcomes while managing overall quality.

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Describe the available efficacy and safety data for emerging therapies in HF, including results from pivotal trials and evidence supporting averted HF-related hospitalizations and/or deaths
• Discuss available HF quality measures from nationally recognized governing bodies as well as from other health systems across the nation
• Illustrate opportunities for HF quality improvement in health-system operations and infrastructure and implement measures to facilitate evidence-based treatment and follow-up
• Characterize the importance of addressing noncardiac comorbidities and overseeing care transitions as they pertain to maintaining therapeutic persistence and improving outcomes
• Develop collaborative strategies for HF management enlisting the input and support of a multidisciplinary team of health care providers

ACCREDITATION

Pharmacist Continuing Education

	Accreditation Statement  Medical Education Resources, Inc. (MER) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

Credit Designation
MER designates this continuing education activity for 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Universal Activity Number - 0816-9999-16-090-H01-P.

DISCLOSURE OF CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
It is the policy of Medical Education Resources, Inc. (MER) to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all of its educational activities. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies conflicts of interest with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Conflicts are resolved by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a continuing education activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this continuing education activity:

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this continuing education activity:

DISCLOSURE OF UNLABELED USE
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

DISCLAIMER
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources, Inc., Impact Education, LLC, and/or Amgen. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. The opinions expressed in this educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of Medical Education Resources, Inc., Impact Education, LLC, and/or Amgen. 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.

METHOD OF PARTICIPATION AND REQUEST FOR CREDIT
There are no fees for participating and receiving CPE credit for this activity. During the period April 30, 2017 through October 30, 2018, participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures; 2) study the educational activity; 3) successfully complete the post-test with a score of 70% or better; 4) and complete the evaluation form. Upon completion of the activity evaluation, you may immediately submit your CPE credit to the NABP CPE Monitor Service. This may require you to add or update the e-profile ID/date of birth information saved in your account.

MEDIA
Internet

FEE INFORMATION
There is no fee for this educational activity.