Activity Overview
This activity will provide general internists and subspecialists with updates in clinical medicine, quality assurance and improvement, healthcare administration, and the integration of concepts from principle-centered medicine to outpatient and inpatient care. The annual convention and scientific sessions are designed to advance the knowledge and competence of practitioners in general internal medicine (outpatient and hospital-based), cardiology, pulmonology, critical care, infectious diseases, endocrinology, allergy/immunology, gastroenterology, rheumatology, hematology/oncology, nephrology, nuclear medicine, sleep medicine, palliative care medicine, aa well as hands-on workshops in OMM (osteopathic principles, practice, and manipulative medicine).

Practice Gap
Today’s internal medicine specialists, and subspecialists, whether practicing in the hospital or ambulatory setting are challenged to provide optimal care for the population of patients they serve. Advances in clinical medicine, the understanding of population health trends and epidemiological changes, as well as the emergence of novel pathogens affecting global health all create an environment where best practice standards of care (SOC) shift rapidly and significantly. The culturally diverse society in which physicians practice and the vital need to remain culturally competent add to the need for education to close the gap between current SOCs and best practices.

Today's internist, whether practicing as a hospitalist, generalist, or subspecialist, is challenged to provide optimal care for patients with a wide range of clinical presentations. Practice informed by evidence-based guidance has been shown to improve outcomes with individual patients, within hospitals, and across populations. However, there is often a gap between evidence-supported practice and day-to-day implementation of care. This gap may be due to a lack of knowledge/information or limitations in opportunities for skill development/implementation. Identifying and implementing evidence-based practices in key therapeutic categories relevant to the internist will limit unnecessary testing, improve quality of care outcomes (CMS, AHRQ), and limit financial burden to the patient and the healthcare system (MACRA/MIPS).

Educational Needs: 
Knowledge: The internist is required to manage a wide range of clinical presentations. Not all internists are able to remain current on the latest guidelines, pivotal trials, and therapeutic options across the range of clinical areas relevant to internal medicine. In many cases, this is driven by a lack of awareness of advances and available information.

Competence: Gap analysis revealed that, across a range of therapeutic areas, internists have a strong understanding of best-practice approaches, but do not consistently apply these in practice. For example, despite advances in pharmacologic management and the use of new devices, there has been variable implementation in hospital-based practice due to opportunity, availability, or internal policies.

Target Audience
This activity has been designed for general internists and subspecialists practicing in ambulatory and/or hospital-based settings.

After actively participating in this educational activity, learners will achieve the following competencies, based on the sessions they select:

• Improve patient care through value-based care
• Reduce the risk of physician burnout
• Improve outcomes in patients with atrial fibrillation 
• Understand ethical topic as it relates to death and dying
• Learn and discuss treatment for patients with opioid substance use disorder
• Improve care for patients with heart disease 
• Learn about new treatments and screening guidelines for patients with colorectal cancer and breast cancer 
• Improve patient care with new updates on CKD 
• Understand the effects of social media on patient health 
• Improve patient for patients going through menopause 
• Understand emerging infectious diseases 
• Improve patient care with immunocompromised patients 
• Preventing medical errors
• Prevent and mitigate domestic violence
• Prevent and mitigate human trafficking 
• Understanding health inequities and social determinants of health 

Accreditation and Credit Designation Statements
The American College of Osteopathic Internists (ACOI) is accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to provide continuing medical education to physicians and has designated this live CME activity for a maximum of 48.25 AOA Category 1A Credits.

The American College of Osteopathic Internists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American College of Osteopathic Internists designates this live activity for a maximum of 45.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For Onsite Attendees who participate in the hands-on workshop portions of the activity:
Up to 2 additional AOA category 1A Credits are available to on-site learners who participate in the OMM hands on workshops.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 36.5 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

For Onsite Attendees who participate in the OMM hands-on workshop portion of the activity:
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables participants to earn up to 2 additional MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program.

It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.