Program Overview

Activity Description Objectives

Target Audience Method of Participation

Term of Approval Acknowledgement of Support

Activity Description

In 2011, the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) published an updated comprehensive review to inform health care providers on the comparative effectiveness of the latest medications used to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). As treatment strategies for RA have continued to evolve, uncertainties pertaining to the comparative efficacy of these new medications needs to be addressed. The early use of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) is crucial for delaying the often debilitating and irreversible disease progression. Methotrexate is considered the oral DMARD of choice to achieve low disease activity or remission. Currently, there is no consensus regarding the comparative effectiveness of corticosteroids, biologic DMARDs, and nonbiologic DMARDs, alone or in combination for the management of RA. This monograph provides the latest evidence from peer-reviewed publications with applications to clinical practice thereby enabling clinicians to make informed treatment decisions and improve outcomes for patients with RA.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:

• Evaluate the comparative effectiveness of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) drug therapies on disease activity, functional capacity, patient adherence, and adverse events
• Assess the benefits and harms of RA medications among important patient subgroups
• Apply evidence on the comparative efficacy of RA therapies for making informed clinical decisions

Target Audience

This CME activity is designed to meet the educational needs of physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and case managers.

Method of Participation

To receive a certificate for this activity, you should:

• Complete the learner assessment pretest
• View the entire activity online
• Complete an online evaluation & post-test
• Print your certificate online

The estimated time to complete this activity, including review of the materials, is 1.0 hour.

Term of Approval

May 31, 2012 through September 30, 2013. Original release date: May 31, 2012

Acknowledgement of Support

There is no fee for this CME/CE activity. This activity is sponsored by PRIME Education, Inc (PRIME^®) and funded under contract HHSA290201000006G from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Faculty Biographies and Disclosures

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Accreditation/Credit Designation

Physician Credit Designation Statement

PRIME Education, Inc. (PRIME^®) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

PRIME^® designates this journal-based CME activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^™. Physicians should claim only credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Pharmacist Accreditation Statement

This curriculum has been approved for 1.0 contact hour by PRIME^®. PRIME^® is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. The Universal Activity Number for this program is 0255-0000-12-021-H01-P. This learning activity is Knowledge-Based.

Nurse Accreditation Statement

PRIME Education, Inc. (PRIME^®) is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

PRIME^® designates this activity for 1.0 contact hour.

Case Manager Accreditation Statement

The Commission for Case Manager Certification designates this educational activity for 1.0 contact hour for certified case managers.

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Faculty Disclosures

Disclosure Policy

PRIME Education Inc (PRIME^®) endorses the standards of the ACCME, as well as those of the AANP, ANCC and ACPE, that require everyone in a position to control the content of a CME/CE activity to disclose all financial relationships with commercial interests that are related to the content of the CME/CE activity. CME/CE activities must be balanced, independent of commercial bias and promote improvements or quality in healthcare. All recommendations involving clinical medicine must be based on evidence accepted within the medical profession.

A conflict of interest is created when individuals in a position to control the content of CME/CE have a relevant financial relationship with a commercial interest which therefore may bias his/her opinion and teaching. This may include receiving a salary, royalty, intellectual property rights, consulting fee, honoraria, stocks or other financial benefits.

PRIME^® willidentify, review and resolve all conflicts of interest that speakers, authors, course directors, planners, peer reviewers, or relevant staff disclose prior to an educational activity being delivered to learners. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone bias in any presentation but is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation. Disclosure information for speakers, authors, course directors, planners, peer reviewers, and/or relevant staff are provided with this activity.

Presentations that provide information in whole or in part related to non FDA approved uses of drugs and/or devices will disclose the unlabeled indications or the investigational nature of their proposed uses to the audience. Participants should refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications and warnings. Participants should verify all information and data before treating patients or employing any therapies prescribed in this educational activity. The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the presenting faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of PRIME^®, the ACCME, AANP, ACPE, ANCC and other relevant accreditation bodies.

Content validation methods are consistently utilized by PRIME^® to ensure that all program content is evidence-based, fair-balanced, and developed with scientific rigor and integrity. All clinical recommendations are based on evidence accepted within the medical profession. All scientific research referred to, reported or used to support a clinical recommendation conforms to accepted standards of experimental design, data collection and analysis. In addition to review of content by course directors and expert faculty, content is also validated through independent peer reviewers selected for their expertise in the content area, as well as their experience in the intended audience. All peer reviewers, planners, course directors, faculty and relevant staff utilized by PRIME^® complete disclosures which are related to their role in the educational activity.

Accessibility

PRIME^®is committed to providing access to our CME programs for individuals with disabilities as identified in Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act for all web-based programs. This website is 508 compliant.

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Post-Test & Evaluation

You must access the activity before receiving credit!

Clinician & Consumer Summaries on Rheumatoid Arthritis

Download these free summaries for your reference and/or patient handouts. You may also order bulk copies free of charge from the AHRQ Publication Clearinghouse below.