Statement of Need/Program Overview
Recurrent hyperkalemia represents a direct and indirect risk by hampering the ability of physicians to maintain RAASi therapy in appropriate patients. Newly approved and emerging potassium binders offer the opportunity to manage recurrent hyperkalemia while maximizing the use of guideline-mandated RAASi therapies proven to help patients with heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, and chronic cardiorenal disease. The Hyperkalemia and Healthcare Outcomes curriculum was designed to help physicians rapidly transform this new knowledge into meaningful actions and improved outcomes for their patients.
Learning Goal/Purpose
This activity is designed to assist learners in reviewing key aspects in the evidence- and guidelines-based diagnosis and treatment of patients with heart failure and hyperkalemia.
Educational Objectives
After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:
- Communicate the clinical trial data and guideline recommendations regarding the use of RAAS inhibitors in the management of chronic kidney disease, heart failure, hypertension and diabetes.
- Evaluate, compare and contrast the clinical trial data on newly approved medications and investigational agents for the treatment of heart failure and/or hyperkalemia.
Program Agenda
This activity will cover topics such as:
- RAAS inhibition: the gap between guidelines and the real world clinical arena
- Management of hyperkalemia with existing agents
- Clinical trial information on newly approved and investigational agents
Accreditation Statement
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint provider-ship of Medical Education Resources (MER) and ReardenCME. MER is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
Credit Designation
Medical Education Resources designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Nursing Credit
Medical Education Resources is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
This CE activity provides 1 (one) contact hour of continuing nursing education.
Medical Education Resources is a provider of continuing nursing education by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider #CEP 12299, for 1 (one) contact hour.
Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest
Medical Education Resources ensures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational programs. 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. MER is committed to providing its learners with high-quality activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of a commercial interest.
The faculty reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:
Murray Epstein, MD has participated in Advisory Boards for Relypsa, Inc.
Daniel Duprez, MD has no financial relationships to disclose.
Bertram Pitt, MD serves as a Consultant for Relypsa, Inc.
The content managers reported the following financial relationships with commercial interests whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity:
Julie Johnson, PharmD has no financial relationships to disclose.
Content planners at ReardenCME have no financial relationships to disclose.
Method of Participation
There are no fees for participating in and receiving credit for this activity. During the period April 2016 through April 2018, participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures, 2) study the educational activity, 3) complete the posttest by recording the best answer to each question in the answer key, and 4) complete the evaluation form in the activity.
A statement of credit will be issued only upon receipt of a completed activity evaluation and a completed posttest with a score of 65% or better.
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, ReardenCME, and/or Relypsa Pharmaceuticals. 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, ReardenCME, and/or Relypsa. 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.
MER Privacy Policy
Medical Education Resources and ReardenCME maintain high standards for the protection of privacy over the Internet. The purpose of this statement is to explain what information we obtain, how it is used, and how visitors can restrict its use or disclosure.
The only information MER obtains is information supplied voluntarily by the visitor.
We do not sell or disclose individually identifiable information obtained online unless it is required by law or disclosure is necessary to protect the safety of customers, employees, or property.
We use the information to grade your posttest and to send you a certificate of completion of the activity. If we use a third-party company to grade your posttest and issue certificates of completion, we will give the information to that company for that purpose only.
For each activity that you take, you must complete an evaluation questionnaire. That questionnaire asks if you are willing to participate in a follow-up survey. If you answer yes, we will use your name and contact information to send you the survey.
We may use the information to invite you to participate in other activities that we may offer.
Medical Education Resources is committed to safeguarding customer privacy, and we require our employees to protect the privacy of information about our customers. Should you wish to delete your information from our files or discuss our privacy policy, please contact us.