Medical Care of Vulnerable and Underserved Populations CME Course 2016

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Investigator: Dean Schillinger, MD
Sponsor: California HealthCare Foundation

Location(s): United States

Description

As millions of previously uninsured patients gain access to health care through the Affordable Care Act becoming expert in caring for the complicated medical and social needs vulnerable and underserved patients is crucial to every healthcare provider.

World-class experts and front-line practitioners from the San Francisco General Hospital & Trauma Center and the UCSF Center for Vulnerable Populations will present approaches to mitigate the challenges in caring for vulnerable populations and enhance the profound joy clinicians can experience when engaging with patients in greatest need.

Topics to be covered include updates in a broad range of diseases that disproportionately affect vulnerable patients, such as diabetes, hepatitis C, HIV, depression, PTSD, heart failure, and hypertension. In addition, we discuss how clinicians can address social factors that complicate the management of medical illness such as low health literacy, intimate partner violence, and food insecurity, to name but a few. We will also tackle how best to integrate behavioral health care for patients with chronic pain, severe mental illness, substance use and complex post-traumatic stress. Each course day will also feature a nationally renowned figure in the field of the care of vulnerable populations, who will deliver pearls and impart wisdom with respect to how to stay engaged, connected and inspired in this work.

An attendee completing this course should be able to:

  • Distinguish between disparities in health and health care;
  • Review systems issues that contribute to health care disparities;
  • Decribe system reforms for improvement in health care disparities;
  • Describe the population specific interventions to improve care-- immigrants, limited English speakers, substance users, etc;
  • Recognize why this population is considered high-risk;
  • Review medical and psychological concerns for each specific group;
  • Identify challenges to care for the group;
  • Identify ways to improve health and chalth care for the group in question;
  • Review a core competency vital to caring for a specific group of patients or using a systems approach to care.