Christina J. Ansted, MPH, CCMEP

There are currently at least 1 million people in the United States who are affected by Parkinson’s disease (PD),(1) and effective provider-patient communication is a critical aspect of disease management for these patients.

Today, 450 million people globally live with mental disorders in both developed and developing countries. In fact, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in every 4 people, or 25% of individuals, develops one or more mental disorders at some stage in life.

Obesity has reached nearly epidemic proportions both in the United States and globally. However, physicians are often unprepared to manage the important problem of obesity and its clinical implications.

The continuing professional development (CPD) of clinicians is a critical process in protecting one of the United States’ most precious human resources. The American Medical Association considers CPD as a system in which physicians, with the help of educational experts, consistently enhance their own clinical practice to provide optimal patient care. CPD calls for clinicians to be motivated, self-directed, lifelong learners who are focused on patient outcomes. Continuing medical education (CME)… Show more

The continuing professional development (CPD) of clinicians is a critical process in protecting one of the United States’ most precious human resources. The American Medical Association considers CPD as a system in which physicians, with the help of educational experts, consistently enhance their own clinical practice to provide optimal patient care. CPD calls for clinicians to be motivated, self-directed, lifelong learners who are focused on patient outcomes. Continuing medical education (CME) is a powerful strategic asset to the CPD of clinicians, which aims to improve the lives of patients by translating research and evidence into clinical practice. The Institute of Medicine report Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions (2010) calls for CME to align learning with health professionals’ needs. To meet that goal, The 3rd Annual Chair Summit, The Master Class for Neuroscience Professional Development, held in Chicago, Illinois (August 2010), brought together chairpersons in psychiatry and neurology to act as expert peer teachers for frontline clinician learners. Faculty and learners collaboratively evaluated evidence, shared ideas and clinical practice challenges, developed individualized clinical strategies, explored the role of the multidisciplinary team, discussed health-system issues, and translated the neuroscience discoveries into patient-centered practice improvements. This introduction introduces 4 companion, CME-certified articles of 2010 Chair Summit highlights, addressing the gap between evidence and practice in multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, sleep-wake disorders, Alzheimer disease, genetic research into psychosis, schizophrenia, treatment-resistant depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, physician addiction, suicide, and technology-based treatment. Show less

The Institute of Medicine report entitled Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions (2010) calls for continuing medical education (CME) to align learning with health professionals’ needs. To meet that goal, The 3rd Annual Chair Summit, The Master Class for Neuroscience Professional Development, held in Chicago, Illinois (August 2010), brought together chairpersons in psychiatry and neurology to act as expert peer teachers for frontline, clinician learners. Faculty and learners… Show more

The Institute of Medicine report entitled Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions (2010) calls for continuing medical education (CME) to align learning with health professionals’ needs. To meet that goal, The 3rd Annual Chair Summit, The Master Class for Neuroscience Professional Development, held in Chicago, Illinois (August 2010), brought together chairpersons in psychiatry and neurology to act as expert peer teachers for frontline, clinician learners. Faculty and learners collaboratively evaluated evidence, shared ideas and clinical practice challenges, developed individualized clinical strategies, explored the role of the multidisciplinary team, discussed health-system issues, and translated the neuroscience discoveries into patient-centered practice improvements. This 5th and final article in the companion series, “Meeting Highlights of the 3rd Annual Chair Summit, The Master Class for Neuroscience Professional Development, 2010” will summarize psychiatric perspectives on neurological illnesses and injuries: multiple sclerosis; traumatic brain injury; sleep-wake disorders, including obstructive sleep apnea; Alzheimer’s disease management; and psychiatric care of older persons, including a case from one chart review session. Highlights of current and emerging developments related to psychiatric treatment perspectives for the management of neurological illness are discussed. Summary points connecting research to clinical practice for each topic are also presented.

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Editorial.

Identifying real solutions to the role of cognitive error in medical misdiagnosis is a challenge; therefore, strategies for improving patient safety tend to focus on more familiar medical errors with more easily attainable objectives.

An estimated 50 million Americans experience a mental disorder in any given year, but only one quarter actually receive mental health and other services. A common barrier to care is stigma, both internal (e.g., self-stigma) and external (e.g., society- or provider-based).

One of the biggest challenges in healthcare is providing safe, effective care, and one of the most significant areas of opportunity for improvement is medication safety.

Violence in the psychiatric care setting has taken its toll with numerous events or attacks which are characterized by violence toward psychiatrists and mental health professionals—even loss of life.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by slow, progressive decline with effects on mobility, cognition, and overall quality of life (QoL). As there is no cure for MS, disease management focuses on inhibiting disease progression and treating symptoms. However, factors such as rehabilitation and the patient-provider relationship can also influence QoL.

Medical errors, inclusive of medication errors, continue to be a major cause of concern in regards to patient safety.

An estimated 10-20% of the U.S. population suffers from migraine headaches, affecting 6% of men and 15-17% of women in the United States.(1) Despite the fact that 1 in 4 households in the United States have someone affected by migraine headaches, migraine is still not considered by many employers and insurers to be a legitimate medical problem.