MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Addiction Cardio Derm May 15-17, 2026

1. Overview
The “Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Addiction/Cardiology/Dermatology” is a conference organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), a non-profit organization. The event is scheduled to take place from May 15-17, 2026, at the SpringHill Suites Springdale/Zion National Park in Zion, UT.
2. Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

Describe the work-up, risk assessment and test selection of patients with suspected CAD.

Implement lifestyle changes as well as lipid and cholesterol guidelines for the prevention of CAD.

Explain current concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.

Implement treatment strategies reflective of recent guidelines and current evidence based medicine for heart failure.

Describe strategies for identifying and treating substance use disorders.

Develop a treatment plan for Alcohol Use Disorder.

Describe strategies for identifying and treating substance use disorders.

Describe the role of cannabinoids in the opioid crisis.

Identify cutaneous findings that serve as surrogates of internal diseases.

Describe the step-wise approach for the diagnosis and treatment of acne and acneiform eruptions.

Differentiate benign and malignant skin tumors and employ appropriate interoffice procedures.

Detect pre-cancerous and cancerous skin lesions.

3. Target Audience
This program is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other health professionals with updates in primary care medicine.
4. Topics
Cardiology

Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD: Risk factor evaluation and risk assessment models; Test selection including ECG, echo, nuclear and newer imaging modalities (including discussion of appropriate use criteria–AUC); The usefulness of CT scanning; The role of bio markers and EBCT; Suspected CAD in special populations (women, diabetics, the elderly).

Primary & Secondary Prevention of CAD: Definitions; AHA/ACC and other lipid guidelines updates; HDL Cholesterol: The good cholesterol?; Metabolic syndrome and/or obesity; Who needs treatment and how much; The role of lifestyle changes, exercise and cardiac rehabilitation; Drug therapy updates; Risk calculation.

Hypertension: The 2017 AHA/ACC Hypertension Guidelines; The 2024 ESC Guidelines for hypertension; Approaches to treatment thresholds and goals; Choices for initial and combination therapy; Resistant hypertension; Treating special populations: diabetics, the elderly, patients with renal failure.

Heart Failure: Etiologies and stages of heart failure; ACC/AHA Heart Failure Guidelines; Heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved EF (HFpEF); Determining patients for referral using biomarkers, eg NT Pro BNP; Treatment options: ACE inhibitors, ARBS, ARNI, beta blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, SGLT2i; The role of devices in treatment and antiplatelet drugs; Issues related to the hospitalized patient with acute decompensated heart failure and readmissions.

Addiction

Substance Use and Addiction: Screening and Brief Intervention: Essential information and skills needed for identifying substance use concerns; Epidemiology, screening tools and the stages of change; Practical steps for initial intervention in the primary care setting.

Addiction Psychopharmacology for Alcohol Use Disorder: The scope of alcohol related problems and the societal burden of Alcohol Use Disorder; Overview of FDA-approved as well as pertinent off-label pharmacotherapies for Alcohol Use Disorder.

Substance Use and Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment: Definition of addiction and its neurobiological basis; Examination of the diagnosis of substance use disorder and ASAM’s multidimensional assessment; Treatment and relapse challenges; The use of motivational interviewing.

Addiction Psychopharmacology for Opioid Use Disorder: Opioid crisis update; Assessing risk factors for opioid overdose; FDA approved medication for treating overdose; FDA approved medication assisted treatment options for managing opioid addiction.

Dermatology

Skin Manifestations of Systemic Disease: Skin will often reflect signs of systemic diseases, be useful for diagnosis, or suffer from a complication of disease or its treatment; Diagnosis of rheumatalogic, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and psychologic conditions based on cutaneous findings.

Acne and Acneiform Eruptions: Identification of noninflammatory open or closed comedones and inflammatory lesions; Determination of treatment therapies based on acne grading scale; Bacterial folliculitis, drug-induced acne, hidradenitis suppurativa, miliaria, perioral dermatits, pseudofolliculitis barbae, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis; Topical and systemic therapy.

Benign Skin Tumors: Proper diagnosis and treatment of common benign tumors; Biopsies and histopathologic examination; Nevi, seborrheic keratosis keloids, hemangiomas and miscellaneous tumors; When to refer.

Premalignant and Malignant Skin Tumors: Recognition of precursors of malignancies; Excisional and punch biopsies; Actinic keratosis, Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma and other selected tumors; Risk reduction education.