Release Date: November 9, 2003
Expiration Date: November 9, 2004

The activity content was developed independently by the contributing faculty. The materials included in this educational program have been peer-reviewed by the editor. All materials are included with the permission of the authors. The opinions expressed are those of the faculty and are not to be construed as those of the publisher or grantor.

In accordance with the ACCME Essential Areas and Policies regarding commercial support, the audience is advised that one or more presentations in this continuing medical education activity may contain references to unlabeled or unapproved uses of drugs or devices. Participants should note that the use of these agents outside current approved labeling is considered experimental and are advised to consult prescribing information for these products.

Target Audience
This activity has been designed to meet the educational needs of rheumatologists and other clinicians involved in the management of patients with rheumatic diseases.

Program Goal
To provide rheumatologists and other clinicians with practical applications relating to recent advances in the treatment of different rheumatologic syndromes.

Conflict of Interest Information

The faculty listed below provided the following information:

Oscar Gluck, M.D Consultant: Merck & Co., Inc.; Eli Lilly

Speakers’ Bureau: Merck & Co., Inc.; Eli Lilly; Aventis, Proctor & Gamble

Bruce Cronstein, M.D. Grant/Research Support: National Institutes of Health; King Pharmaceuticals

Consultant: Abbott Laboratories; Aventis, Merck & Co., Inc.

Speakers’ Bureau: Merck; Amgen

Carlos J. Lozada, M.D. Speakers’ Bureau: Pfizer, Merck & Co., Inc.; Boehringer Ingelheim

Larry Moreland, M.D. Grant/Research Support: Abbott; Amgen; Wyeth; Centocor

Consultant: Abbott; Amgen; Wyeth; Centocor

Speakers’ Bureau: Abbott; Amgen; Wyeth

The faculty listed below provided no information regarding significant relationships with companies and commercial supporters:

H. Michael Belmont, M.D.
Gary Solomon, M.D.

How to Take This Course
Participants in this educational activity may read through an individual chapter, obtaining half a credit worth of category 1 credits upon completing the evaluation and correctly answering the questions at the end of the chapter. Alternately, the participant may read several chapters in one session, accumulating credits for each chapter read and receiving a certificate for the total amount of credits obtained.

Accreditation
Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. TUSM takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

TUSM designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3 category 1 credits (half a credit per chapter) toward the AMA Physician's Recognition Award. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the educational activity.

ADA/OEO Nondiscrimination Policy
Tufts University School of Medicine (TUSM) considers all applicants and program participants without regard to race, color, national origin, age, religious creed, sex or sexual orientation. TUSM is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Hardware/Software Requirements
This educational activity requires version 4.x browsers or higher from Microsoft or Netscape. Certain educational activities may require additional software to view multimedia, presentation or printable versions of their content. These activities will be marked as such and will provide links to the required software. That software may be: Adobe Acrobat, Quicktime plug-in.

Questions
For questions regarding the content of this activity, contact the accredited provider for this CME/CE activity: med-oce@tufts.edu. For technical assistance, contact: webmaster@vertibrae.com.

This online, self-study activity is formatted to include text, graphics, and may include other multi-media features. There are no fees for participating in this activity.

How to Obtain Credit
Participation in a single chapter of this self-study activity should be completed in approximately 1 hour. To successfully complete this activity and receive credit, participants must follow these steps during the period from [insert date] through [insert date]:

1. Read the target audience, program goal, educational objectives and faculty conflict of interest information.
2. Read, complete and submit the post test and evaluation online. Participants must receive a test score of at least 70%, and respond to all evaluation questions to receive a certificate.
3. When finished, click “submit.”
4. After receiving a test score of at least 70% on the post test, you may access your online certificate along with the annotated answers by selecting “Print Certificate” on the screen, or continuing on to participate in the next online activity. Your credits will be tallied in the CME Tracker.

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