What You Need to Know About PAH: Empowering Pharmacists in Management Decisions

Release Date: Friday, December 16, 2016 Expiration Date: Saturday, December 16, 2017

EDUCATIONAL OVERVIEW

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a rare disease with significant consequences, including serious functional impairment and premature death. If left untreated, PAH is rapidly fatal. Fortunately, over the past decade, the knowledge and understanding of this disease has greatly expanded. Furthermore, the availability of effective and more convenient oral and inhaled medications has allowed clinicians to better individualize therapy to meet patient treatment goals. Though there is no cure for PAH, effective treatment can significantly slow disease progression and clinical worsening. Given the serious nature of this disease and its rapid progression, optimal treatment selection is essential.

The Role of the Pharmacist
Optimal management of patients with PAH requires early detection and diagnosis followed by an aggressive treatment plan. By increasing their competency, pharmacists can play an important role within the interprofessional team when encountering patients with this deadly and rapidly progressing disease.

Given the complex and individualized nature of PAH therapy, pharmacists must have a full understanding of treatment algorithms, disease-specific therapies, and long-term monitoring recommendations based on evidence-based guidelines. As the armamentarium to treat PAH continues to expand, pharmacists must make efforts to stay informed of the latest findings in order to contribute to the optimal management of these patients.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This continuing pharmacy education activity is planned to meet the needs of pharmacists in a variety of practice settings, including large and small healthcare systems, outpatient clinics, managed care organizations, long-term care facilities, and academia. This program targets health-system pharmacists who are responsible for the safe and effective use of medications utilized for the treatment of patients with PAH.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this activity, participants will be able to:

Explain how treatment algorithms and prognostic factors can be used to individualize care for patients with PAH
Describe the evolution of PAH therapy over the past 20 years and evaluate the role of the various therapeutic classes as monotherapy or combination therapy in the treatment of PAH
Discuss how pharmacists can play an integral part of the interprofessional healthcare team when managing patients with PA

EDUCATIONAL FORMAT

This webcast on demand is based on the CPE Midday Symposium conducted at the 51st ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting & Exhibition and a series of programs held at State Societies of Health-System Pharmacists meetings.

Introduction: Burden of PAH

Current Approaches in PAH Management with Clinical Practice Cases
1. Current treatment algorithm
2. Review of drug classes and mechanisms of action
3. Individualizing therapeutic strategies and defining treat-to-target goals
4. Clinical evidence supporting monotherapy vs. combination therapy
5. Role of the pharmacist within the interprofessional team

Note: If you have received credit for attending the live programs by the same name, you are not eligible to apply for credit for this online version.

FACULTY

	Rebekah H. Anguiano, PharmD, BCPS, BCACP Clinical Liaison Pharmacist, Specialty Pharmacy Services Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Pharmacy University of Illinois Hospital and Health Sciences System Department of Pharmacy Practice Chicago, IL

Pharmacists
Center for Independent Healthcare Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider for continuing pharmacy education. Center has assigned 1.5 contact hours (0.15 CEUs) of continuing pharmacy education credits for participating in this activity.

ACPE UAN: 0473-9999-16-010-H01-P
Activity type: Knowleddge-based

For questions regarding the accreditation of this activity, please contact us at info@jointsponsor.com

Method of Participation and Instruction for Credit

Review the entire CE information including target audience, learning objectives, and disclosures.
Review each episode.
Complete the Post Test, Evaluation, and Credit Application Form.
Please note that to receive credit you must achieve a score of at least 70%.
The information that you participated will be uploaded to CPEMonitor and you will be able to access your credits from the profile you set up with NABP. For more information, please visit http://www.nabp.net/.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

In accordance with policies set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), Center for Independent Healthcare Education requires all faculty members and spouses/significant others with an opportunity to affect the content of a continuing education activity to disclose any relevant financial relationships during the past 12 months with commercial interests. A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, reselling or distributing health care goods or services consumed by or used on patients. Relationships with commercial interests and conflicts of interest resulting from those relationships must be revealed to the audience and resolved prior to the activity.

Relevant relationships include roles such as speaker, author, consultant, independent contractor (including research), employee, investor, advisory committee member, board member, review panelist, and investigator. If a potential speaker or author indicates a possible conflict of interest, the conflict will be resolved by choosing another speaker or author for that topical area, or the slides, handouts, and/or monograph will be reviewed and approved by a qualified commercially-disinterested peer.

Disclosures
Rebekah H. Anguiano, PharmD has relevant financial relationships with the following commercial interests:
Speakers Bureau: United Therapeutics
Dr. Anguiano does not discuss off-label uses of any products.

No other speakers, authors, planners or content reviewers have any relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Content review confirmed that the content was developed in a fair, balanced manner free from commercial bias. Disclosure of a relationship is not intended to suggest or condone commercial bias in any presentation, but it is made to provide participants with information that might be of potential importance to their evaluation of a presentation.

Fee
There is no fee to participate in this activity.

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Joint Providership
This activity is jointly provided by Center for Independent Healthcare Education and Vemco MedEd.

Commercial Support

This activity is supported by an educational grant from
Actelion Pharmaceuticals.

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