Based on U.S. Surgeon General's first-ever bone health report

Today the Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME), an ACCME-accredited organization, announced a new continuing medical education initiative, the Bone Health Advisory Council, to educate primary care physicians and other medical professionals about the urgency of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. More than 10 million Americans, especially women, suffer from this silent and debilitating disease.

This educational initiative is based on the U.S. Surgeon General's first- ever bone health report issued last year. The PCME will launch the Bone Health Advisory Council by hosting a live continuing medical education (CME) satellite broadcast on June 21, 2005 at 12:00 PM EDT (with a second broadcast to follow at 3:00 PM EDT). Please visit http://www.bonehealthcouncil.org/ to register, or for more information.

The hour-long program will examine the vital role of Vitamin D in the prevention of osteoporosis, as well as address the importance of early and aggressive treatment. Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), is the keynote speaker for this event. Mr. Thompson was Secretary of HHS when the Surgeon General's report on bone health was developed.

"Osteoporosis is a silent but deadly condition, and many people are simply unaware that their bone health is in jeopardy," said Thompson, now an advocate for improved bone health. "We now know that it can be treated successfully, saving millions of Americans from brittle and fractured bones, and relieving our healthcare systems of a great financial burden-if we take action now."

The broadcast will also feature Dr. Marc C. Hochberg, Head of the Division of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, and Dr. Henry G. Bone, Head of the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit.

Additional educational projects about osteoporosis, including newsletters and a series of national town hall forums will continue throughout the year as part of the Bone Health Advisory Council's initiative. The first town hall forum, a live medical symposium on the public burden of osteoporosis, will take place in Baltimore on June 22, 2005 at the University of Maryland School of Medicine.

This event is sponsored by the Potomac Center for Medical Education (PCME) and supported through an educational grant from Merck. The educational partner of the Bone Health Advisory Council initiative is Rockpointe Corporation.

Source: Potomac Center for Medical Education

CONTACT: Cindy Karra, +1-202-974-5009, for Potomac Center for Medical
Education

Web site: http://www.bonehealthcouncil.org/