Weight loss, MOC featured in meeting coverage

Internal Medicine Meeting 2017 was held from March 30 through April 1 this year in San Diego, offering a wealth of educational and networking opportunities (not to mention fabulous weather) for its nearly 10,000 attendees. As always, our staff was on the scene to provide daily updates, as well as coverage for this issue.

Our story this month focuses on the perennial problem of weight loss. At a session on nutrition, attendees were offered an overview of the risk factors for obesity as well as practical tips to combat them. For example, what patients eat rather than how much they exercise is much more important initially for losing weight. Meal replacements such as shakes or bars and low-calorie frozen dinners can help patients get used to eating less, and once they've lost the weight, exercise is vital to helping them keep it off. Attendees were reminded, however, that while monitoring patients' weight loss is essential, acting as the “food police” can harm more than help.

Another story looks at Maintenance of Certification and how the process is changing. Representatives from the American Board of Internal Medicine provided an overview of the new two-year assessment, or Knowledge Check-In, that will be offered in internal medicine and nephrology starting in 2018 and in other subspecialties by 2020. The new two-year exam and the 10-year exam, which will remain available as an option, will soon include an “open-book” feature, allowing physicians to access a to-be-determined online reference source during testing. Also, physicians taking the two-year exam will know immediately whether they passed and receive more detailed feedback at a later date. Read our story for more on these coming changes.

Coverage of Internal Medicine Meeting 2017 continues. Read about the ins and outs of iron, including tips on prescribing iron supplements, calculating an iron deficiency, and managing overabsorption. Another story offers six pearls on diagnosing and treating Lyme disease, such as tips on use of antibiotics and effective tick removal, while another story will fill you in on how to approach foot disorders, with pain location as your best initial guide. You'll learn more about how to use statins and PCSK9 inhibitors in patients with chronic coronary artery disease, while an expert offers high-value care recommendations for managing gastroesophageal reflux disease, rectal bleeding, and chronic diarrhea.

If you attended Internal Medicine Meeting 2017, what were your favorite sessions? Please let us know.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Kearney-Strouse
Executive Editor, ACP Internist