Doctors Teaching Doctors

Primary Care Network educates doctors about headache and Migraine
       

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We often discuss the problem of doctors needing to be educated about headache disorders. Last weekend, it was my pleasure to observe a dedicated group of specialists sharing their knowledge with other doctors to address that need at a conference conducted by the Primary Care Network¹ and entitled Achieving Success in the Treatment of Headache². Conference materials stated:

"The goal of the Primary Care Network for this conference is to increase providers' skills and interests in the therapeutic area of disabling headache."

The Learning Objectives of the conference were:

• Recognize the various clinical presentations of headache that may emerge from the migraine process.
• Become familiar with the "red flag" and "comfort sign" approach to identifying secondary headaches.
• Understand the latest concepts in migraine pathophysiology.
• Utilize the Convergence Hypothesis to develop treatment plans for helping patients with all of their headache treatment needs.
• Formulate a headache management "toolbox" for patients incorporating acute and preventive treatment approaches.
• Devise strategies for helping patients understand headache treatment tactics and improving patient compliance with therapeutic plans.

The seminar began with a two-hour didactic session with all the attendees in one group. The major points of that session were:

• The Migraine Process and Headache Presentations
• Understanding the Convergence Hypothesis
• Devise a Toolbox for Each Headache Patient for Improved Treatment Outcome
• Questions

After the didactic session, the participants were split into two groups to make discussion easier and everyone attended two breakout sessions:

• Managing the Chronic Daily Headache Patient
• Communicating the Message — The Final Step to Optimizing Treatment Success

It was, to say the least, heartening to see a room full of doctors taking a Saturday morning to learn how to better treat their headache and Migraine patients. Just as encouraging was much of the content in the seminar's printed materials. A letter written by Dr. Roger Cady, CEO of the Primary Care Network is inspiring and evidence that there are caring doctors who want to help:

"...Today the process of headache is a valid neurological disorder. My ability to convey this message to my migraine patients often removes years of guilt and self-recrimination... Today's therapeutic tools can be life-transforming for my patients. Has there been any other therapeutic area that has enjoyed such significant advancements.

Even though many physicians have helped me fine-tune my skills over the years as a clinician, my patients have most influenced my understanding of headaches. I've witnessed the devastating impact uncontrolled migraines can inflict on its victims and their families. I've watched the spiral of despair and fear that can be the consequences of this disease. But, more recently, I've witnessed the major differences that quality care can make using the strategies available today. And these improvements in patient care remind me why I wanted to become a physician in the first place..."

At the same time these doctors were investing in their future and the future of their patients, doctors in four other cities across the U.S. were participating in the same seminar in four other cities, all led by dedicated specialists in the field.

Many of us know doctors who have wanted to help us but simply didn't know how. This seminar would be of great benefit to them and their patients. Please refer them to the Primary Care Network web site. There is a schedule of conferences on their site. The conferences are offered to doctors at no charge, and they receive CME (continuing medical education) credits for attending.

Kudos also to GlaxoSmithKline who supports this conference with an unrestricted educational grant. As a side note, I'd like to mention that GlaxoSmithKline and their products were in no way promoted during this seminar.
          

¹ Primary Care Network
Mission statement: "Primary Care Network, a not-for-profit corporation, is a team of dedicated physicians and other professionals who create cutting edge medical education programs for physicians and other health care providers to help them in the treatment of their patients."
     
² This conference is supported through an unrestricted educational grant from GlaxoSmithKline.

~ © Teri Robert, 2003

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