CME | A Crash Course in Thyroid Confusion
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of CME On the GO, the hosts discuss a practical approach to hypothyroidism, using a case of a 50-year-old woman with nonspecific symptoms (weight gain, fatigue, edema, constipation). They emphasize thorough history and physical exam, then outline key thyroid testing: TSH as the initial screening test (often with reflex free T4), free T4 for confirmation and special situations (including pregnancy), and limited uses for T3 tests. They review antibody testing (TPO for Hashimoto’s, thyroglobulin antibodies in select cases) and note tests...
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FFFM | Lawmaker Spotlight: Physician Voices Shaping Health Policy
Inside Family Medicine
David Tully, AAFP vice president of government relations, speaks with U.S. Rep. Mike Kennedy, MD, a family physician and former Utah state legislator, about why he chose family medicine, how having more clinicians in public office can lead to bipartisan physician collaboration on health care policy and the need for greater professional autonomy. We also hear from U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter, MD, a pulmonary/critical care physician and former Oregon state legislator who...
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IFM | Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell: Delivering Maternal Health Care and Equity
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Inside Family Medicine, Bayo Curry-Winchell, MD, MS, discusses maternal health care and the role of family physicians in providing consistent care from preconception through pregnancy and postpartum. Dr. Curry-Winchell shares why she chose family medicine and her nontraditional path from a Certified Nursing Assistant to Physicians Assistant to physician, including the risks she took to attend medical school. She describes her own near-fatal postpartum complication following a cesarean section and emphasizes the importance of...
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IFM | From Clinic to Community: Advancing Health Equity in Rural Settings
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Inside Family Medicine, host Emily Holwick speaks with Calin Kirk, MD, family physician at the Cherokee Nation’s Sam Hider Health Center in Jay, Oklahoma, and Sarah Gerrish, MD, full-spectrum family physician and assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine, to discuss advancing health equity in rural and tribal communities. They share why family medicine’s broad scope of practice and continuity of care matter, and outline barriers like distance,...
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CME | Twisted Truths: What You Didn't Learn About Sickle Cell
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of CME On the Go, the hosts discuss sickle cell disease (SCD) and the role of family medicine in recognizing, screening, and preventing complications. They review SCD as an autosomal recessive hemoglobin disorder distinct from sickle cell trait and highlight major complications such as anemia, infection risk, pain crises, and acute chest syndrome. The episode emphasizes global prevalence, newborn screening (and potential gaps), and risk beyond African ancestry. It also covers hemoglobin electrophoresis patterns, preventive care including penicillin prophylaxis and...
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IFM | Enhancing Knowledge About mRNA Vaccines
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Inside Family Medicine, host Michael Monroe speaks with AAFP Vaccine Science fellows Anne Schneider, DO, FAAFP, and Mina Saleem Khan, MD, FAAFP, about why mRNA vaccines matter and how family physicians can address patient questions and misinformation. They explain mRNA basics, review COVID-19 vaccine safety and efficacy, address common myths, and share practical communication strategies—such as empathetic counseling, presumptive recommendations, and team-based systems—to reduce missed vaccination opportunities. Topics by...
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FFFM | March 2026 Advocacy Rounds
Inside Family Medicine
David Tully, AAFP vice president of government relations, recaps the AAFP’s March 2026 advocacy efforts. Academy EVP and CEO Shawn Martin testified before Congress on how underinvestment fuels workforce shortages, longer waits and practice closures. Chronic disease drives 90% of the $4.9 trillion the US spends on health care each year, but primary care receives less than 5% of those funds. With that in mind, the AAFP urged Congress to improve patients’ access and costs by making primary care affordable, supporting...
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IFM | Brain Health and Chronic Conditions: Lifelong Connections
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of Inside Family Medicine, we hear from Dr. Ariel Cole, a family and geriatric medicine physician and fellowship/residency leader at AdventHealth Orlando, about the family physician’s role in cognitive aging, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Dr. Cole describes her experience caring for patients across the cognitive decline spectrum and emphasizes prevention. The conversation covers barriers like time and system awareness, strategies for sensitive discussions about shame and independence, and leveraging community resources such as Area...
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CME | Tiny Ties & Big Opinions: Hot Takes in Peds
Inside Family Medicine
In this episode of CME on The Go, our hosts discuss a postpartum patient with painful breastfeeding and concerns about milk supply. They emphasize listening, cultural context, and early breastfeeding discussions. The episode reviews baby‑friendly hospital practices, noting risks when taken too far, and affirms that formula supplementation may be appropriate. Practical guidance includes assessing latch and positioning, supportive tools, tongue‑tie considerations, and concludes with neonatal circumcision as an elective, culturally influenced procedure. Learning...
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IFM | Downcoding: How Payers Are Cutting Payments and What Family Physicians Can Do
Inside Family Medicine
Guest host Karen Johnson, PhD, VP of Practice Advancement for the AAFP, talks with Dr. Tina Philip, DO, a solo family physician in Round Rock, Texas, and AAFP CEO, Shawn Martin, about payer downcoding, where insurers reduce billed evaluation and management levels (e.g., 99214 to 99213), lowering payment and adding administrative burden. Dr. Philip describes how downcoding most often affects moderate-to-high complexity office visits and stresses physicians must monitor claims beyond denials by working with billing/coding staff to confirm expected...
info_outlineIn this episode of CME On the Go, our hosts revisit menopause through a case of a 51-year-old with seven months of amenorrhea, vasomotor and cognitive symptoms, and osteopenia-range DEXA findings, highlighting that she is perimenopausal. They note the limited role of FSH/LH testing and the need to rule out other causes. The episode focuses on systemic hormone therapy, recommending 17β-estradiol with progesterone for patients with an intact uterus, favoring transdermal routes for lower risk, gradual dose titration, shared decision making, and supportive lifestyle measures.
Learning Objectives
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Learn how to select proper dosing and route of administration for estrogen replacement therapy including initiation, adjustments through monitoring, and discontinuation.
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Discuss non-medicinal strategies for healthy aging in the menopausal woman including issues around sleep management, general cardiovascular fitness, and dementia.
The AAFP has reviewed Hot Takes and Flashbacks of Menopause and deemed it acceptable for up to 0.50 Enduring Materials, Self-Study AAFP Prescribed credits. Term of Approval is from 03/09/2026 to 6/4/2027. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
The AAFP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The American Academy of Family Physicians designates this Enduring Materials for a maximum of 0.50 AMA PRA Category 1 credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
CME activities approved for AAFP credit are recognized by the AOA as equivalent to AOA Category 2 credit.
After listening to the podcast episode, claim 0.5 AAFP credit by following the provided link.
References and Resources
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Menopause and Perimenopause Livestream: https://www.aafp.org/cme/all/womens/menopause-perimenopause-hrt.html
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Menopause Management: When Hormone Therapy Is Appropriate: https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2026/0200/editorials-menopause-management.html
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Hormone Therapy for the Primary Prevention of Chronic Conditions in Postmenopausal Women: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/10.1001/jama.2017.16952?utm_source=openevidence&utm_medium=referral
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Blog Article: More people than ever are interested in menopause. Family physicians should be, too: https://www.aafp.org/news/blogs/aafp-voices/menopause-perimenopause-education.html
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ACOG President Says Label Change on Estrogen Will Increase Access to Hormone Therapy: https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2025/11/acog-president-says-label-change-on-estrogen-will-increase-access-to-hormone-therapy
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The NAMS 2017 Hormone Therapy Position Statement Advisory Panel. The 2017 hormone therapy position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2017;24(7):728-753. doi:10.1097/GME.0000000000000921
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. Yet, the latest update from WHI showed that HT with CEE + MPA or with CEE alone was not associated with risk of all-cause, cardiovascular or cancer mortality during a cumulative follow-up of 18 years (Manson et al., 2017
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Manson JE, Aragaki AK, Rossouw JE, Anderson GL, Prentice RL, LaCroix AZ, Chlebowski RT, Howard BV, Thomson CA, Margolis KLet al. Menopausal hormone therapy and long-term all-cause and cause-specific mortality: the Women’s Health Initiative randomized trials. JAMA 2017;318:927–938.
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Clare Oliver-Williams, Marija Glisic, Sara Shahzad, Elizabeth Brown, Cristina Pellegrino Baena, Mahmuda Chadni, Rajiv Chowdhury, Oscar H Franco, Taulant Muka, The route of administration, timing, duration and dose of postmenopausal hormone therapy and cardiovascular outcomes in women: a systematic review, Human Reproduction Update, Volume 25, Issue 2, March-April 2019, Pages 257–271, https://doi.org/10.1093/humupd/dmy039
Disclosure: It is the policy of the AAFP that all individuals in a position to control content disclose any relationships with commercial interests upon nomination/invitation of participation. Disclosure documents are reviewed for potential conflicts of interest and, if identified, conflicts are resolved prior to confirmation of participation. Only those participants who had no conflict of interest or who agreed to an identified resolution process prior to their participation were involved in this CME activity. All individuals in a position to control content for this session have indicated they have no relevant financial relationships to disclose.
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