HIV Waiting Room: Newly diagnosed young MSM with a history of recreational drug use

Faculty

Christian B. Ramers, MD, MPH
Assistant Medical Director, Research/Special Populations
Director, Graduate Medical Education
Family Health Centers of San Diego
Clinical Associate Professor
UC San Diego School of Medicine
San Diego, California

Dr. Christian Ramers is a specialist in infectious diseases and oversees clinical programs in HIV and hepatitis B and C at Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), an urban, underserved, Federally Qualified Health Center clinic network. He serves as FHCSD’s Assistant Medical Director for Research and Special Populations, and the Director of Graduate Medical Education, serves on several speakers bureaus, providing HIV and HCV education throughout the Western United States, and has consulted for the California Department of Public Health, WebMD, Medscape, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He chairs the California chapter of the American Academy of HIV Medicine and has advocated for HIV/HCV care at the state legislative level. Dr. Ramers serves as a coinvestigator on several National Institutes of Health-sponsored projects in collaboration with other San Diego State University investigators.

Richard A. Elion, MD, MA
Clinical Professor of Medicine
George Washington University, School of Medicine
Senior Policy Advisor
Trio Health
Director of HIV/HCV Clinical and Research Program 
Washington Health Institute
Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Richard Elion is Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University, School of Medicine as well as Director of the HIV/HCV Clinical and Research Program at the Washington Health Institute, in Washington, District of Columbia (DC). Dr. Elion actively sees patients with HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, and other sexually transmitted diseases. In addition to seeing private patients, he serves as Senior Policy Advisor at Trio Health in Washington, DC. Dr. Elion is the past Director of Clinical Research at Whitman-Walker Health, where he focused on cutting edge research in HIV. His tenure at Whitman-Walker Health coincided with the organization being selected in 2013 as part of the AIDS Clinical Trials Group by the National Institutes of Health. Prior to his tenure with Whitman-Walker Health, Dr. Elion served as Co-Director of HIV Services at Washington Free Clinic and in various research and clinical capacities in New York and Washington. He received his medical degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and completed his internship and residency at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. Dr. Elion also holds a master’s degree in counseling and spiritual psychology from the University of Santa Monica in Santa Monica, California.

Target Audience

This activity is intended for infectious disease and HIV specialist physicians and other clinicians involved in the care of patients with HIV infection

Statement of Need/Program Overview

Men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly those of color, have a higher risk of contracting HIV. Substance use is both common in the MSM population and an additional risk factor for HIV; clinicians should be aware of risk factors both for contracting HIV and for decreased adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in this population. This case-based, interactive activity focuses on a young, African American MSM who uses drugs recreationally, creating a clinical scenario addressing rapid ART, importance of adherence to an ART regimen, substance use, and mental health issues that a patient in this population may experience.

Educational Objectives

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Implement strategies to overcome the barriers to and facilitate the benefits of timely HIV treatment initiation, including consideration of rapid ART protocols

Physician 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 providership of Global Education Group (Global) and Integritas.  Global is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Physician Credit Designation

Global designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 0.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Global Contact Information

For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Global at 303-395-1782 or cme@globaleducationgroup.com.

Instructions to Receive Credit

In order to receive credit for this activity, the participant must complete the posttest and program evaluation. Your posttest will automatically be graded. If you successfully complete the posttest (score of 80% or higher), your statement of participation will be made available immediately. Click on the View Statement of Participation link and print the statement for your records. If you receive a score lower than 80%, you will receive a message notifying you that you did not pass the posttest. You will have 2 opportunities to pass the posttest.

Fee Information & Refund/Cancellation Policy

There is no fee for this educational activity.

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Global requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals and their spouses/life partners who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly vetted by Global for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies mentioned in the materials or used as the basis for content, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouses/life partners have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Christian B. Ramers, MD, MPH
Consultant/Independent Contractor: AbbVie Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited; Grant/Research Support: AbbVie Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Speaker’s Bureau: AbbVie Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Merck & Co., Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited

Richard A. Elion, MD, MA
Consultant/Independent Contractor: Gilead Sciences, Inc.; Grant/Research Support: Gilead Sciences, Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited; Honoraria: Gilead Sciences, Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited; Speaker’s Bureau: Gilead Sciences, Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited; Other/Royalty (Describe): Works with Trio Health, Inc., who receives grants from Gilead Sciences, Inc., ViiV Healthcare Limited

The following planners and managers reported that neither they nor their spouses/life partners had financial relationships or relationships to products or devices twith commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Lindsay Borvansky; Andrea Funk; Liddy Knight; Ashley Cann; Gena Dolson, MS; Stacey JP Ullman, MS; Jim Kappler, PhD

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Global and Integritas do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. 

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization associated with this activity. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.