Improving Screening and Treatment for Infectious Diseases Among Injection Drug Users

MANHATTAN, N.Y. - July 10, 2019 - PRLog -- DKBmed and the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) are collaborating on HCV/HIV Virtual Roundtable: Treating HCV/HIV Injection Drug Users (www.hcv-hiv.dkbmed.com). This initiative seeks to improve identification and management of HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) among injection drug users and others. Recent success treating HCV and HIV is being threatened by the rise of injection drug use (IDU) and the shifting demographics of people who inject drugs (PWID). As treatment options improve and access to treatment is more readily available, the responsibility to effectively screen at-risk populations and manage patients to prevent new infections has never been greater. In 2017, HCV infection was reported in 53% of PWID. In 2016, PWID accounted for 9% of new HIV diagnoses.

HCV/HIV Virtual Roundtable is designed to reach clinicians who treat people for opioid use disorders, as these clinicians are perfectly poised to identify, prevent, and/or treat HIV and HCV among the population of injection drug users.

"Despite the ease of HIV and HCV testing, many patients with these dangerous infections are completely unaware that they are infected. Not only are they at risk for the serious consequences of these illnesses, but they are also responsible for many new infections," explained Kathleen Brady, MD, PhD, from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and the Vice President of Research at the Medical University of South Carolina. "Clinicians who treat people with drug use disorders have unique opportunities to intervene and may potentially disrupt the chain of transmission, infection, and morbidity."

Through a series of webcasts broadcast to clinicians who treat patients using IV drugs, HCV/HIV Virtual Roundtable (http://hcv-hiv.dkbmed.com/) will use expert faculty presentations and case studies to:

• Launch discussions about transmission of HIV and HCV and strategies for mitigating stigma.
• Introduce conversations about screening for HIV and HCV.
• Prevent HIV in high-risk individuals.
• Treat or link individuals with HIV or HCV infections to appropriate care.

Each of the hour-long webcasts is moderated by Dr. Brady who leads the discussion with Dr. Litwin from the Clemson University School of Health Research and Dr. Springer from the Department of Internal Medicine Section of Infectious Disease Yale School of Medicine. Clinicians viewing the webcast will have the opportunity to participate in a real-time Q&A with the panelists. Clinicians who are unable to view the live webcast will be able to view an archived version or to review an interactive monograph.

The live and enduring programs will be certified by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine for 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit^TM. This program is supported by an educational grant from Gilead Sciences, Inc.

About DKBmed
DKBmed (www.dkbmed.com) is an integrated continuing medical education company operated by a team of medical education experts. DKBmed provides health care professionals with effective medical education that closes identified knowledge and practice gaps with the goal of improving patient health.

Working with accredited providers, DKBmed develops innovative educational programs and quality improvement initiatives and specializes in bringing new learning methodologies to the CME landscape. To date, DKBmed has partnered with Johns Hopkins University, University of Kentucky, and Penn Medicine – Lancaster General Health to develop a number of QI projects in Pain Management, HIV, Depression, and Diabetic Eye Disease. In addition, DKBmed has developed numerous programs educating health care providers on infectious diseases such as eHIV Review, eViralHepatitis Review, ODM: Finding the Invisible Patient, Samantha - A Life with HIV: Optimizing Therapy in HIV Subpopulations, START (Screen, Talk, Assess, Refer, Treat) HIV, and START HCV.

DKBmed was also an early adopter of case scenarios with recorded and live actors, TED/DKBmed Talks, 3D animation, webcasts, podcasts, e-mail, and mobile phone applications for clinicians and patients. These forward-thinking approaches enable health care professionals to learn using state-of-the-art techniques and access educational programs in a manner that is most convenient and appropriate for them.

DKBmed's programs are accessible through the company's web site (www.dkbmed.com). They reach more than 50,000 health care professionals in primary care and in a variety of specialties, including pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, infectious disease, viral hepatitis, dermatology, ophthalmology, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, nephrology, multiple sclerosis, ulcerative colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, depression, eating disorders, and pain management.

About Postgraduate Institute for Medicine
The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) has been providing trusted independent continuing education for healthcare professionals for over 35 years and is a recognized leader for jointly provided CME/CE activities. The purpose of the PIM continuing healthcare education program is to deliver effective CME/CE activities that are designed to contribute to the professional development of physicians and other healthcare professionals, support the development and function of collaborative interprofessional teams, and positively impact the delivery of healthcare. We fulfill this mission by forming successful alliances and working in collaboration to deliver impactful educational experiences that are designed to improve patient care practices.