Educational initiative proves successful in identifying and diagnosing fibromyalgia

Sep 17 2009

According to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the Fibromyalgia Circle of Care Initiative has achieved dramatic success in heightening awareness, diagnosis and best practice treatment of fibromyalgia – a complex and chronic pain disorder that plagues an estimated 10 million Americans. Most people go undiagnosed, suffering from widespread body pain and fatigue that impacts the ability to carry out the simplest daily activities. According to The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing and the National Fibromyalgia Association, the initiative has already demonstrated success in increasing the awareness and adoption of multi-faceted fibromyalgia treatments including patient education, cognitive behavior therapy, prescription medication and exercise.

The goal of the Fibromyalgia Initiative was to go beyond traditional clinical education and engage physicians in a multi-interventional, multidisciplinary educational activity to demonstrate measurable value and improvement in patient care and clinical practices. The reported outcomes include significant, demonstrated successes in those areas that represented the biggest barriers or gaps in improving patient care:

• Increasing provider confidence in diagnosing fibromyalgia;
• Identifying comorbid conditions;
• Applying evidence-based clinical trial data; and
• Integrating novel FDA-approved therapies and additional therapeutic options.

“The Fibromyalgia Circle of Care Initiative educated clinicians on the proven benefits of addressing fibromyalgia treatment on multiple levels and the application of specific standards of care while empowering patients in self-care and management of their condition,” said Victor Marrow, Ph.D., Executive Director, Office of Funded Programs/CME, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. “The initiative’s outcomes demonstrate that the multi-interventional aspects of this CME program actively engaged participating clinicians and enhanced their knowledge of the disease, diagnosis and care.”

“This educational CME program goes beyond the traditional CME learning models by combining an interactive learning format with simulated patient case studies and visual aids to address educational factors that influence appropriate care and treatment of patients,” said Jane Shivan, MScN, RN, AOCN, Executive Director, The Institute for Johns Hopkins Nursing. “After completing the program, clinicians said they had learned about evidence-based clinical trial data and new, approved medications, and that they planned to adopt a more comprehensive approach to managing the condition -- from education to exercise -- to treat patients.”

“This initiative united multiple disciplines to address the deficiencies in properly identifying, diagnosing, and managing patients with fibromyalgia,” said Lynne Matallana, President and Founder, National Fibromyalgia Association. “The increased awareness resulting from this educational program will help reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment that are so prevalent today and encourage immediate, aggressive treatment -- greatly improving patients’ quality of life and long-term outcomes.”

The second phase of the Fibromyalgia Circle of Care Initiative will be launched with the first ever Performance Improvement Initiative in Fibromyalgia this year. This educational initiative will look beyond pain to address other major patient complaints including fatigue, decreased cognition and increased depression. The program will educate primary care providers, rheumatologists and psychiatrists about best practices for diagnosis, as well as medicinal and non-medicinal treatments for fibromyalgia patients. Leveraging a performance improvement model, the Phase II initiative will measure improvements in the clinicians' diagnoses and management of the disease as a result of participation in the program.

The first phase of the Fibromyalgia Circle of Care initiative was supported by educational grants from Eli Lilly and Company, Forest Laboratories, Inc., and Pfizer, Inc., and the second phase is supported by Eli Lilly and Company. MJ Consulting Group, LLC is the facilitator and manager of both educational initiatives.