This course provides the practicing internist with information on the use and application of drug therapies for clinical entities that are commonly encountered in the practice of medicine. Newly approved drugs and new uses for older therapies are covered. The clinical role, risk, benefit, and cost of drugs commonly used in the outpatient setting are discussed. The course will also address evolving therapies lifestyle changes that play a pivotal role in the management of patients with chronic diseases. Faculty provide practical take-home messages on hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, asthma, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, and depression. Best-practice guidelines, when available, are emphasized in each area.

Learning Objectives:

1. Prescribe appropriate drug therapies for diseases commonly seen in the office.
2. Understand the current uses of older drugs.
3. Review the risk, benefit, and cost of various therapies.
4. Gain better understanding of drug reactions and interactions.
5. Recognize therapeutic lifestyle changes that play a modifiable role in chronic diseases.

Director:
George H. Karam, MD, FACP
Paula Garvey Manship Professor of Medicine, Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans; Head, Department of Medicine, Earl K. Long Medical Center, Baton Rouge, LA

Faculty:
Tina V. Hartert, MD, MPH, Member
Associate Professor of Medicine, Director, Clinical Epidemiology and Outcomes Research, Director Medical Scholars Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN

Theresa Kehoe, MD, Member
Adjunct Assistant Professor, Division of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Georgetown University Medical Center; Medical Officer, Division of Metabolic and Drug Products, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Rockville, MD

Robert A. Kreisberg, MD, MACP
Vice-President and Dean, Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL

Kurt Kroenke, MD, MACP
Professor of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine; Senior Scientist, Regenstrief Institute for Health Care, Indianapolis, IN

Harold E. Lebovitz, MD
Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY

Rick A. Nishimura, MD, FACP
Judd and Mary Morris Leighton Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Raymond R. Townsend, MD
Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine/Renal, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA