Free Ophthalmology CME

Activity Description / Statement of Need:
In this online, self-learning activity:

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of blindness in individuals over the age of 50 years. In the early stages of disease, vision may be gray, hazy, or distorted. As the disease progresses, retinal deterioration can lead to irreversible, bilateral loss of central vision. In the US alone, an estimated 18.3 million people are living with early-stage ARMD, and 1.5 million people are living with late-stage AMD, representing 11.6% and 0.9% of all adults older than 40 years, respectively. In addition to the burden of disability caused by blindness, AMD is also associated with substantial societal and economic costs. In the US, vision loss and blindness incur an economic burden of $134 billion annually, of which $36 billion is attributable to indirect costs such as loss of productivity, injury, and unemployment.

Target Audience:
The following HCPs: comprehensive ophthalmologists and retinal specialists; physician assistants, and nurse practitioners who practice in ophthalmology; and any other HCPs with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with AMD.

Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) is a demyelinating, autoimmune condition affecting the central nervous system. MOGAD is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies directed against the MOG protein located on the surface of myelin sheaths surrounding nerve fibers in the CNS. The disease course may be monophasic or relapsing, and a progressive course is extremely rare, making the mortality rate fairly low (2.1%) compared to other neuroinflammatory diseases. It is a relatively new addition to the category of demyelinating diseases, and approximately 10,000 cases of MOGAD are estimated within the U.S.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Dry eye disease (DED) is a condition with a diverse group of etiologies and whose common symptoms include discomfort or pain, visual disturbance, tear film instability, and ocular surface inflammation. Compared with those without the condition, patients with DED experience higher rates of loss of work productivity, impaired of daily activities, medical visits, and sleep and mood disorders, and worse emotion well-being and overall quality of life. Although the prevalence of DED varies based on a variety of patient factors, estimates place it as high as 20% of the adult population and more than 34% in the elderly. The aggregate U.S. economic impact is estimated be over $3 billion in direct medical expenses and $55 billion in indirect expenses annually. Nonetheless, DED is both underdiagnosed and undertreated.

Target Audience:

The following HCPs: ophthalmology and optometry; physician assistants and nurse practitioners who practice or are interested in ophthalmology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients with dry eye.

Activity Description / Statement of Need:

In this online, self-learning activity:

Biosimilar drugs are products meant to be similar in quality, safety, and efficacy to an already licensed reference biotherapeutic product. There has been remarkable growth in the number of commercially available products considered biosimilar by the FDA: over 30 FDA-approved and over 20 launched by one recent count. One therapeutic area of upcoming expansion of approvals is in ocular indications, where there is considerable active research and where available data indicate identical or near-identical rates of efficacy, safety outcomes, and immunogenicity. Biosimilars save the U.S. healthcare system $338 billion annually, a remarkable statistic for medications that are clinically interchangeable, and they are expected to continue to play a role in reducing the burden of healthcare expenditures in an era of heightened cost consciousness.

Target Audience:

The following healthcare professionals: ophthalmologists; physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and pharmacists who practice in ophthalmology; and any other healthcare professionals with an interest in or who clinically encounter patients eye disease.