Practical Considerations in Lipid Management

Co-presented by:
Benjamin J. Ansell, MS, FACP
Carol M. Mason, RNCP, GNP
 
Sponsored by The France Foundation

Benjamin J. Ansell, MD, FACP, received his undergraduate degree at Cornell University and his Doctor of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Medicine, where he subsequently performed an internship and residency in Internal Medicine. Dr. Ansell currently serves as Assistant Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in the Division of General Internal Medicine. He also serves as Director of the University’s Center for Primary Care-Based Cardiovascular Disease Prevention and its Comprehensive Health Program.

Dr. Ansell’s current roles include President of the Executive Board of the UCLA Department of Medicine, memberships on the Credentials Committee of the UCLA Department of Medicine, the Managed Care Utilization Review Committee of the UCLA Medical Group, and as a consultant to the Adult Congenital Heart Disease Program. He is a member of the American Heart Association Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, a diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians.

Chosen by Town & Country magazine’s as one of the “Best Physicians in America,” Dr. Ansell has an impressive range of research experience focusing on evidence-based cholesterol treatment strategies. He is also principal investigator of the hs-CRP and HDL Effects of Statins Trial (CHEST) and the Statin Improvement in HDL Function Trial (SHIFT). He is on the review boards of the American Journal of Cardiology, American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, WebMD, and Southern Medical Journal. He has published research papers in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Archives of Internal Medicine, and The American Journal of Cardiology, among others. He has also been featured by The New York Times, "Dateline NBC," "Good Morning Los Angeles," and "Australian National Public Radio."

Carol Mason, RNCS, GNP, is Director of The Heart and Lipid Institute of Florida, in St. Petersburg. Ms. Mason serves as Clinical Preceptor for physicians, nurses, and nurse practitioner students looking to start lipid clinics.

Ms. Mason received her Associate of Arts from Harvard University, Associate of Science in Nursing from St. Mary’s College, her BS in Health Sciences from St. Francis College, and her NP Certification from The College of St. Catherine in 1989.

Since 1995, Ms. Mason has served as principal investigator and subinvestigator for many large, national clinical trials and as a co-investigator involved in original research, involving men with erectile dysfunction and known cardiovascular disease risk factors. She frequently lectures nationally and serves as consultant on lipid management, diabetes and dyslipidemia, organizational management of heart disease prevention programs, and women’s heart health issues. She served as President of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association and the Greater St. Paul Division of the American Heart Association. She is author of several articles and contributor of a chapter to Guide to Developing a Successful Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Program for Phillips Healthcare Communications and, most recently, an article to Clinical Review on the subject of lipid management.
Faculty Disclosure

It is the policy of The France Foundation that faculty disclose to the program participants any real or apparent conflict of interest. Ms Mason serves on the speakers bureau of Sankyo Pharmaceuticals. She serves as a consultant for Abbott Laboratories, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Kos Pharmaceuticals, Merck, Merck/Schering-Plough, and Pfizer. Dr. Ansell serves as a speaker for AstraZeneca and Pfizer. He has received research grants from Merck and Pfizer.
Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this program, participants will be able to:

  • Evaluate patient health concerns and treatment needs by identifying the components of an overall cardiovascular risk assessment strategy
  • Explain the role of nurse practitioners on patient-care teams in the treatment of lipid disorders
  • Identify the most effective disease management strategy for the dyslipidemia patient
  • Describe and discuss the positive outcomes that can result from evidence-based cholesterol treatment strategies in order to reduce the cardiovascular risk and events
 
Educational Need
It is estimated that over 65 million Americans have cholesterol levels that exceed recommendations and necessitate intervention and treatment. Of these, approximately 36 million qualify for statin drug therapy; however, only 8 million statin prescriptions are filled each month. These statistics combined with the new, more aggressive treatment guidelines indicate a great need for improved education on the clinical diagnosis and optimal treatment of dyslipidemia. Improved education can facilitate the clinical goal of managing dyslipidemia, which can only be met through improved healthcare professional-patient relationships and communication in combination with aggressive treatment plans.

The goal for this program is to provide health care professionals treating dyslipidemia with a comprehensive continuing education program that reflects ongoing clinical advances while addressing educational objectives critical to improvement of lipid management under the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) ATP III Guidelines.

This program is intended for nurse practitioners and other health care providers involved in the treatment of dyslipidemia.
 
Intended Audience

This online lecture is intended for nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians treating dyslipidemia.

Course Presentation

Program Questions
For questions regarding the content of this program, please contact The France Foundation, at cme@francefoundation.com.
 
 

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