80023258: Fibromyalgia in Primary Care: What You Need to Know Now! Practical Applications for Patient Care

Goal

This activity has been designed to provide knowledge, skills, and tools to diagnose fibromyalgia (FM) and confounding conditions, and to formulate treatment plans to address a patient’s symptoms utilizing the full range of evidence-based therapeutic options.

Background

FM is estimated to affect 5 million adults in the United States. Although previously thought to be an arthritis related condition or inflammatory musculoskeletal disease, it is now considered to be an illness that primarily involves dysregulation of the central nervous system. FM is not related to a specific identifiable cause, and numerous factors are involved. Patients with FM typically see many providers before receiving the diagnosis. In a large Internet survey of more than 2500 individuals diagnosed with FM, the National Fibromyalgia Association found that 46% of respondents had consulted between 3 and 6 health care providers before obtaining the diagnosis, and 25% had seen more than 6 providers prior to diagnosis. Almost one-third of respondents felt that their provider did not view FM as a “very legitimate” disorder. One reason is that the main symptoms of FM, pain and fatigue, overlap with many other conditions. In addition, there are currently no generally accepted, objective diagnostic laboratory tests for FM—as a result, the diagnosis itself is still debated.

Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:
• Use diagnostic criteria to diagnose FM
• Identify and evaluate the symptom domains for an FM patient
• Formulate individualized treatment plans that employ appropriate pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatment strategies to address a patient’s symptoms
• Evaluate efficacy of management using tools such as the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ)


This program is a live webinar/teleconference. To register, or for more information, please visit: www.fibronow.com

Policy On Speaker And Provider Disclosure

It is the policy of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine that the speaker and provider disclose real or apparent conflicts of interest relating to the topics of this educational activity, and also disclose discussions of unlabeled/unapproved uses of drugs or devices during their presentation(s). Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine OCME has established policies in place that will identify and resolve all conflicts of interest prior to this educational activity. Detailed disclosure will be made in the activity handout materials.