On Demand: Patient Care Highlights

Optimizing Drug Therapy and Avoiding Drug Injury in the Older Adult Part 1:

• Discuss key physiologic and pathophysiologic changes of aging that impact drug therapy

• Apply age-sensitive principles for medication dosing and management to patient scenarios.

Optimizing Drug Therapy and Avoiding Drug Injury in the Older Adult: Part 2 :

• List nine key questions useful for identifying and managing inappropriate polypharmacy, such as unnecessary medication use in older adults

• Apply practical tools to screen and appropriately manage complex drug regimens among older adults with or at-risk for drug injury

• Discuss high-risk drug-drug and drug-dietary supplement interactions commonly encountered in primary care, including best practices in identifying and managing related toxicities.

• State key principles for assessing patients in pain, identifying risk factors and behaviors that are associated with opioid misuse, abuse, and addiction.

• Describe the similarities and differences in the mechanism of action for opioids, cannabinoids and gabapentenoids.

• Compare and contrast the benefits, risks and role of opioids, cannabinoids and gabapentenoids in managing pain.

• Describe the best practice model for properly monitoring patients who are started on opioids, gabapentenoids and cannabinoids to minimize the risks of adverse reactions, over-dosage and inappropriate compliance.

• Compare and contrast the following product formulations of gabapentenoids with respect to their benefits and risks in managing pain: a) gabapentin (Neurontin); b) Horizant; c) Gralise; and, d) Lyrica.

• Compare and contrast the most common cannabinoids found in marijuana with regards to their benefits and risks in managing pain and other symptoms.

• State the risks of combining opioids with: a) benzodiazepines; b) alcohol; c) gabapentenoids; and, d) cannabinoids.

• Describe how to counsel patients and caregivers regarding the safe use on naloxone for opioid overdose.

Managing Anxiety and Sleep Disorders: Drug and Non-Pharmacologic Considerations

• Describe signs and symptoms of common sleep and anxiety disorders with a focus on older adults.

• Discuss common anxiety disorders, including the neurobiological basis of disease, clinical presentation, assessment, and approach to treatment.

• Recognize evidence-based treatments for insomnia and common anxiety disorders, including lifestyle, behavioral, and pharmacologic interventions.

• Identify key parameters that warrant referral to specialty care for individuals with insomnia and/or anxiety disorders.

Optimizing Psychopharmacotherapy in Depression: Clinical Cases

• Discuss pharmacologic management options within clinical cases of patients with depression.

• Relate physiologic and pathophysiologic alterations of brain neurochemistry to symptoms of depression, including the genetic link and molecular basis of injury.

• Apply clinical practice guidelines for antidepressant therapies.

• Describe key parameters for medications used to treat mechanism, safety, tolerability, efficacy, cost, and simplicity of use.

Best Practices in Chronic Kidney Disease: Highlights from Latest Guidelines and Expert Recommendations

• Describe the latest evidence and expert consensus guidance for the evaluation and risk assessment of individuals with CKD.

• Discuss medications used to delay CKD progression and manage its complications, including mechanism of action, safety, tolerability, efficacy, price, and simplicity of use.

• Review strategies to identify and manage cardiovascular risk in individuals with CKD.