About

SMA is pleased to announce that the 16th Annual Osteoporosis Conference will take place July 24-27, 2013, at the beautiful Kiawah Island Golf Resort, Kiawah, South Carolina!

This meeting is offered in collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina’s Center for Osteoporosis and Bone Health, South Carolina’s largest multidisciplinary center for osteoporosis treatment and long-term bone health management.

Why SMA CME?

Southern Medical Association is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. SMA has been resurveyed by the ACCME and awarded accreditation with commendation for 6 years as a provider of continuing medical education for physicians.  SMA’s accreditation period is valid through November 2017.  ACCME accreditation “seeks to assure the medical community and the public that Southern Medical Association provides physicians with relevant, effective, practice-based continuing medical education that supports US health care quality improvement.”

Program Overview

“It was the best of times…It was the worst of times,…It was the age of wisdom…It was the age of foolishness…” The first few lines of Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, aptly describe the present situation with osteoporosis. We know how to diagnose osteoporosis, who, and how to screen, who and how to treat; we have medications that effectively reduce the risk of fractures and yet most patients with osteoporosis are neither diagnosed nor treated, even after a fracture occurs. To make matters worse, recent reports about possible rare complications of long-term unmonitored therapy have further discouraged clinicians from managing osteoporosis and led many patients to discontinue their medication.

About 50% of women and 30% of men over the age of 50 years have osteoporosis. It is not possible for the care of these patients to be relegated to specialists. Primary care providers should feel comfortable screening, diagnosing and treating patients with osteoporosis. The main goal of this conference is to provide primary care providers with an update on recent developments in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, increase their level of comfort managing patients with osteoporosis and know when to refer a patient for specialist’s care.

Target Audience

This activity is designed for healthcare professionals who care for patients at risk for or suffering from osteoporosis, including primary care, family practice, gynecology, internal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics, adolescent medicine, endocrinology, geriatrics, orthopaedics, radiology, osteopathy, physiatry, and rheumatology. Others who will benefit include pharmacists, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, and technologists who work with physicians to diagnose and treat patients with osteoporosis and other allied healthcare providers who work, or have an interest, in the field of bone densitometry.

Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants should be more competent to:

• Improve identification of patients with Osteoporosis or at risk for developing Osteoporosis
• Identify potential benefits and adverse effects of FDA approved medications for Osteoporosis
• Tailor management of Osteoporosis to particular needs of individual patients

Conference Syllabus/Faculty Slides

As part of the growing commitment to conserve natural resources, a flash drive of the faculty slides/handouts will be provided to each registrant onsite instead of a printed copy of the materials. The faculty slides will be available on a private website prior to the conference for electronic download if you wish to have a paper copy to follow onsite. Additionally, you may insert the flash drive in your laptop (with battery power support) to follow along at the conference. The flash drive is an easy-to-transport resource for post-conference review.

Special Offer – ONLY for Our “VIP” Repeat Attendees!

If you will assist SMA to increase attendance at our Conference, SMA will REWARD you!  For every NEW attendee that you refer who registers and attends our Conference, SMA will refund you $100 for each – up to YOUR full registration fee!  So, spread the word, contact a colleague, or bring your entire staff!  The continued success of our Conference depends on great attendance!  Click here for complete details!

Two Meetings – One Fee!

Taking place the SAME DATES and SAME TIMES as the Osteoporosis Conference, SMA is also hosting its 24th Annual “Focus on the Female Patient Conference.”  When you register for SMA’s Osteoporosis Conference, you are welcome to “move between” the two conferences, allowing you additional content options – at no additional charge!  To view the schedule for SMA’s Female Patient Conference, click here.

Contact Information

Conference sponsored by Southern Medical Association, an ACCME accredited provider.  For questions or special needs call 1-800-423-4992 or 205-945-1840, ext. 620.  Most requests received at least two weeks prior to the conference can be accommodated.