MER Primary Care Conferences Internal Medicine for Primary Care Cardio Geri ID Neck & Spine Apr 12-16, 2026

1. Overview

The “Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Cardiology/Geriatrics/Infectious Diseases/Neck & Spine” is a primary care conference organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), a non-profit organization.

The conference will be held from April 12-16, 2026, at the Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island, Hawaii.

2. Learning Objectives

Identify early treatment options for the management of lumbar spine disorders.

Evaluate abnormal gait patterns.

List current interventions available for patients experiencing acute spinal pain.

Utilize observation, palpation, range of motion and neurologic exams to diagnose cervical spine disorders.

Evaluate a patient’s cervical spine range of motion.

Utilize a comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify potential issues in the elderly patient.

Review common lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) that may progress to urinary incontinence, and initiate treatment options.

Recognize and screen elderly patients for CVD risk factors.

Diagnose and treat cognitive impairment, dementias, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Discuss strategies for the management of difficult behaviors in patients with dementia without the use of psychotropic medications.

Review epidemiology and microbiology of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI).

List common causative pathogens for various respiratory tract infections.

Diagnose and manage genitourinary infections.

Recommend appropriate immunizations based on patient specific risk factors.

List goals of an antimicrobial stewardship program and strategies for antimicrobial treatment.

Describe current diagnostic approaches and the role of drug therapy to the patient with acute chest pain.

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

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

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

Explain current concepts in the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension.

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

Geriatrics – Approach to the Geriatric Patient: Review demographics of aging and changes in the older patient. Apply the 4Ms and age-friendly framework for older adults. Discuss what matters and advance care planning. Tailor medication use in older adults, including review of risky medications, alternatives, and deprescribing. Integrate geriatric principles into the annual wellness visit.

Geriatrics – Urological Disorders in the Older Adult: Review of two very common conditions seen in the elderly population: benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and urinary incontinence. Pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, recommended evaluation and management options for BPH. Review of the anatomy and mechanism of normal urinary function, causes of incontinence, the evaluation and management.

Geriatrics – Vascular Disorders in the Older Adult: Peripheral vascular disease. DVT/thromboembolic disease. Abdominal aortic aneurysm and related disorders.

Geriatrics – Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementias: Approaches to brain health and dementia risk reduction. Early detection and diagnosis, including clinical evaluation and biomarkers. Various types of dementia. Current treatment options for dementia.

Geriatrics – Approach to Care for Individuals with Dementia and Family Caregivers: Care planning in dementia including advance care planning and driving. Engaging and supporting family caregivers. Review of common behavior disorders in dementia. Communication and behavioral techniques for behavior disorders in patients with dementia. Review of the potential adverse effects of the psychotropic medications usually used to manage behavior.

Neck & Spine – Diagnosis and Treatment of Lumbar Spine Disorders: A practical approach to the diagnosis and early management of lumbar spine disorders will be presented. Anatomy, differential diagnosis, as well as physical examination concepts will be covered.

Neck & Spine – Physical Examination of the Lumbar Spine, Hip, and Sacroiliac Joint: Exam techniques will be demonstrated and discussed.

Neck & Spine – Nonpharmacologic Treatment of Acute and Chronic Spinal Pain: Strategies for triage and nonpharmacologic management of spine and pain patients will be presented. Guidelines for the use of imaging and other diagnostic tools, manual therapies, as well as psychological and other approaches to pain management.

Neck & Spine – Diagnosis and Treatment of Cervical Spine and Select Upper Extremity Disorders: A practical approach to the diagnosis and early management of cervical spine and selected upper extremity disorders will be presented. Anatomy, differential diagnosis, as well as physical examination concepts will be covered.

Neck & Spine – Physical Examination of the Cervical Spine and UE Entrapment Neuropathies: Exam techniques will be demonstrated and discussed.

Infectious Diseases – Skin & Soft Tissue Infections: Presentation on important skin and soft-tissue infections and their prompt recognition, emphasizing evaluation and management strategies.

Infectious Diseases – Respiratory Tract Infections: Discussion highlighting critical points regarding the diagnosis and management of pneumonia and bronchitis – with a focus on the impact of multidrug resistant pathogens.

Infectious Diseases – Genitourinary Infections: Presentation on a relevant and clinically practical approach to the patient with genitourinary complaints focusing on the latest guidelines for the range of urinary tract infections and highlights of selected and important sexually-transmitted disease syndromes.

Infectious Diseases – Immunizations: Presentation on key vaccine preventable diseases and their presentations with an emphasis on the latest recommendations including newest schedules, safety and efficacy information.

Infectious Diseases – Antimicrobial Stewardship and Multidrug Resistance: Definition of an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP). Concepts of the antimicrobial stewardship program. Four goals of antimicrobial stewardship. Most recent additions to the antimicrobial armamentarium.

Cardiology – Acute Coronary Syndromes, The Patient with Acute Chest Pain: Diagnosis and initial evaluation in the primary care setting, urgent care clinic and emergency department. Initial workup, treatment, and follow-up. Diagnosing and treating ST segment elevation and non-ST segment elevation Mls. The role of drug therapy–primary vs adjunctive to PCI. Follow up after acute coronary syndromome.

Cardiology – 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.

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).

Cardiology – 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.

Cardiology – 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.