"Fibromyalgia: A Comprehensive Approach to the Diagnosis and Treatment of FM in the Primary Care Setting"

Jointly Sponsored by Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the National Fibromyalgia Association and M2 Communications, Inc.  Release Date:  August 2011,  End Date: August 2012

This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of psychiatrists, neurologists, anesthesiologists, primary care providers, rheumatologists and any others involved in the treatment of fibromyalgia.

It takes an average of 5 years for a person with fibromyalgia to obtain an accurate diagnosis. No scientific measures, such as laboratory tests or X-rays, "prove" a person has fibromyalgia. Additionally, rheumatologists and other specialists are increasingly deferring the diagnosis and treatment of fibromyalgia to the primary care provider. However, primary care providers have not been formally trained in the appropriate diagnostic criteria of fibromyalgia. Additionally, overlapping symptoms such as impaired sleep can make diagnosis more difficult.

Primary care providers may not be aware of the latest evidence-based treatment approaches, including nonpharmacologic (exercise, patient education, and cognitive-behavioral therapy) and pharmacologic treatments necessary for the comprehensive management of patients with fibromyalgia.

This course is designed to assist practitioners to recognize the importance of detection and diagnosis of fibromyalgia in the primary care setting, differentiate comorbidities that often present with fibromyalgia, and Incorporate evidence based approaches to the management of patients with fibromyalgia (pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic) including patient education