PRN Meeting: February 20, 2024 Jointly provided by the Medical Society of the State of New York, at a Zoom webinar, 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m (EST).

Target Audience:

Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, and Physician Assistants caring for people at risk for, or infected with HIV and/or viral hepatitis.

Course Director: James F. Braun, DO, President & Program Planner, Physicians' Research Network

Moderator: Keith M. Sigel, MD, PhD, Professor, General Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Otolaryngology - Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Guest Speakers and Presentations:

Looking Beyond Bugs to Consider Drugs: Drug User Health and HIV/HCV Prevention and Treatment

Brianna Norton, DO, MPH

Clinical Professor of Medicine
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY

The principles of harm reduction in HIV medicine have been most highly driven through their empathic incorporation in strategies to minimize the harms caused by injection drug use, as exemplified by the effect of needle exchange on the reduction of HIV and HCV transmission and the evolution to HCV treatment as prevention. In this program, Dr. Brianna Norton will help prepare us to prevent, diagnose, and treat HCV coinfection and re-infection in people living with HIV as a continuous effort in harm reduction.

At the completion of this educational activity learners will:
1. Define Harm Reduction Principles
2. Be aware of recent HIV and HCV outbreaks among PWID (people who inject drugs)
3. Articulate how to reduce HIV and HCV infections for people who inject drugs
4. Understand the data for HCV treatment among PWID and HIV/HCV co-infected

Advances in Anal Cancer Prevention in People with HIV

Joel M. Palefsky, MD, FRCP (C)

Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
University of California, San Francisco, CA

PRN has long supported efforts to prevent the devastating outcomes of anal cancer in people living with HIV (PLWH). Much progress has been made through the success of the ANCHOR Study which was ended ahead of schedule due to the indisputably favorable outcomes for people receiving treatment for pre-cancerous anal lesions. This confirmation of proactive efforts to destroy high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions in and around the anus using high-resolution anoscopy emphasizes the role that we in HIV primary care must routinely incorporate into our care for all PLWH. In this program, Dr. Joel Palefsky, the principal investigator of the ANCHOR Study, will update us on the most recent guidelines for anal cancer prevention.

At the completion of this educational activity learners will:
1. Understand the current epidemiology of anal cancer in people living with HIV;
2. Be aware of the results of the ANCHOR study;
3. Be aware of HPV vaccination recommendations and new screening guidelines for anal cancer prevention in people living with HIV;
4. Understand gaps in knowledge in screening and treatment of anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions.

Accreditation Statement:

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) and the Physicians’ Research Network (PRN). MSSNY is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing Medical Education for physicians.

The Medical Society of the State of New York designates this live activity for a maximum 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABIM MOC Recognition Statement:

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Disclosure Statements:

Policies and standards of the Medical Society of the State of New York and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education require that speakers and planners for continuing medical education activities disclose any relevant financial relationships they may have with commercial interests whose products, devices, or services may be discussed in the content of a CME activity.
- Dr. James F. Braun (Course Director/Planner) has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
- Dr. Keith M. Sigel (Moderator) has no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
- Dr. Brianna Norton (Presenter) has no relevant financial relationships to disclose. Dr. Norton will submit her slides in advance for adequate peer review and will support her presentation and clinical recommendations with the best available evidence from the medical literature.
- Dr. Joel M. Palefsky (Presenter) has had the following personal financial relationships in the past 24 months with manufacturers of the products or services that may be presented in this CME activity: Consultant to Vir Biotechnologies, Roche Diagnostics, Abbott, Viron Therapeutics (w/ Viron stock options); Institutional Grants from Barinthus Biotherapeutics, Atila Biosystems, Spotlight Therapeutics, Merck. Dr. Palefsky will support his presentation and clinical recommendations with the best available evidence from the medical literature and will submit his slides in advance for adequate peer review. All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.

Financial Support:

This PRN CME activity is funded in part by unrestricted educational grants from Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare.