ACC.27 Annual Scientific Session
Tag: CME
Midwest Cardiovascular Forum 2026
Serious Illness Conversations: Improving Patient Care at End of Life
When patients are experiencing serious illness—and perhaps approaching end of life—combining your medical skills with a solid understanding of what is important to your patients allows you to plan for the best care possible, together.
Sometimes this can be more challenging than it seems but, like other skills, how to gain this understanding can be learned, and your skills will improve over time with practice and support. The Center for Advancing Serious Illness Communication (CASIC) will provide you with the training, skills and resources to help you provide the highest quality of care for your patients by ensuring the care you deliver is concordant with your patient’s goals.
A joint project of the Minnesota Medical Association and the Minnesota Hospital Association, CASIC’s comprehensive training series will introduce you to serious illness communication and to the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG). This evidence based, patient-tested tool was developed by Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
This no-cost, CME-eligible training is available to members of care teams who work with patients with serious illnesses. First, you’ll take a prerequisite sequence of three on-demand, online modules, accessed here: www.advancingsic.org/training-and-events
Part 1: Serious Illness Conversation—An Introduction (.25 credit)
Part 2: The Serious Illness Conversation Guide (.5 credit)
Part 3: Implementing Serious Illness Communication (.25 credit)
Upon completion of the modules, you’ll take part in a live, virtual classroom training session, qualifying for 3 AMA PRA Category 1 credits, where you will:
- Experience the Serious Illness Conversation Guide as part of a structured approach for ensuring
the delivery of serious illness conversations. - Practice the communication skills necessary to use the Serious Illness Conversation Guide,
receive feedback to improve those skills, and integrate these skills into your practice.
The next training session will take place on:
- Thursday, October 9, or Tuesday, October 21,12:45 pm to 4:30 pm
Please visit www.advancingsic.org/training-and-events to learn about our upcoming classroom training dates and to register. Space is limited and must be reserved and confirmed in advance. For more information, contact Lori Brostrom, CASIC Executive Director at lbrostrom@advancingsic.org.
Serious Illness Conversations: Improving Patient Care at End of Life
When patients are experiencing serious illness—and perhaps approaching end of life—combining your medical skills with a solid understanding of what is important to your patients allows you to plan for the best care possible, together.
Sometimes this can be more challenging than it seems but, like other skills, how to gain this understanding can be learned, and your skills will improve over time with practice and support. The Center for Advancing Serious Illness Communication (CASIC) will provide you with the training, skills and resources to help you provide the highest quality of care for your patients by ensuring the care you deliver is concordant with your patient’s goals.
A joint project of the Minnesota Medical Association and the Minnesota Hospital Association, CASIC’s comprehensive training series will introduce you to serious illness communication and to the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG). This evidence-based, patient tested tool was developed by Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
This no-cost, CME-eligible training is available to members of care teams who work with patients with serious illnesses. First, you’ll take a prerequisite sequence of three on-demand, online modules, accessed here: www.advancingsic.org/training-and-events
Part 1: Serious Illness Conversation—An Introduction (.25 credit)
Part 2: The Serious Illness Conversation Guide (.5 credit)
Part 3: Implementing Serious Illness Communication (.25 credit)
Upon completion of the modules, you’ll take part in a live, virtual three hour classroom training session, qualifying for 3 AMA PRA Category 1 credits, where you will:
- Experience the Serious Illness Conversation Guide as part of a structured approach for ensuring the delivery of serious illness conversations.
- Practice the communication skills necessary to use the Serious Illness Conversation Guide, receive feedback to improve those skills, and integrate these skills into your practice.
Please visit www.advancingsic.org/training-and-events to learn about our upcoming classroom training dates and to register.
Serious Illness Communication Training Available
The Center for Advancing Serious Illness Communication (CASIC), a joint initiative of the Minnesota Medical Association (MMA) and Minnesota Hospital Association (MHA), has launched its first series of on-demand training to introduce healthcare providers and other members of care teams to serious illness conversations (SIC).
This three-module introductory training series begins the process of preparing clinicians and healthcare organizations to engage every patient experiencing a serious illness in meaningful discussions about their diagnosis, prognosis and care choices. It focuses on the Serious Illness Communication Guide, an evidence-based tool developed by Ariadne Labs, which is a joint center for health systems innovation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
The free training is available to all members of care teams who work with patients with serious illnesses. These modules are CME-eligible for physicians.
CME Webinar: Anemia in Patients with CVD and CKD: Current Management and Potential Role of HIF-PHIs
Program Overview:
Anemia in CKD is associated with poor CV outcomes, increased risk of CKD progression, decreased health-related quality of life (HRQOL), and increased healthcare resource utilization. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents have been the standard of care for treating anemia in CKD but are associated with CV safety concerns; other therapies include red blood cell transfusions and iron administration, but each potentially has severe adverse events.
Hypoxia-inducible factor-prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors (HIF-PHIs) are promising novel agents in development for treating CKD-associated anemia. These oral agents increase endogenous erythropoietin production, improve iron absorption and mobilization, and decrease hepcidin production in the liver.
Anemia in Patients with CVD and CKD: Current Management and Potential Role of HIF-PHIs will provide cardiologists with information about the etiology of anemia in CKD, the effects on CV disease, HRQOL, and function, advantages and limitations of current management strategies, and the efficacy and safety data for HIF-PHIs in late-stage development for the management of CKD-related anemia.
Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to:
- Discuss the etiology of anemia in chronic kidney disease
- Summarize how anemia affects functioning, quality of life, and health outcomes, for patients with cardiovascular disease and chronic kidney disease
- Assess the benefits and limitations of available modalities for treating anemia in chronic kidney disease
- Describe the mechanism of action of and efficacy and safety data for agents in late-stage development for the management of anemia of chronic kidney disease
Steering Committee:
Erin Michos, MD, MHS
Associate Professor of Medicine
Division of Cardiology
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Matthew Weir, MD
Professor and Chief
Division of Nephrology
Department of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Jointly provided by USFH and Rockpointe.
This educational activity is supported by an educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline.