MER Primary Care Conferences: Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026 (Videos)

Comprehensive Primary Care Updates in Cardiology, Addiction Medicine, Dermatology, Coronary Artery Disease, Heart Failure, Hypertension, Skin Cancer, and Evidence-Based Internal Medicine

Strengthen your expertise in comprehensive outpatient care with MER Primary Care Conferences: Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026, an evidence-based continuing medical education (CME) program developed by Medical Education Resources (MER). Designed specifically for office-based primary care clinicians, this multidisciplinary conference provides practical updates in cardiovascular medicine, addiction medicine, dermatology, and preventive internal medicine, enabling healthcare professionals to confidently diagnose, manage, and prevent common yet complex medical conditions encountered in daily practice.

Held May 15–17, 2026, at SpringHill Suites Springdale/Zion National Park, Zion, Utah, this educational program features expert-led lectures, clinical case discussions, and guideline-based reviews focused on modern cardiovascular risk assessment, substance use disorders, hypertension, heart failure, dermatologic diagnosis, and skin cancer detection.

Participants gain clinically relevant knowledge that can be immediately integrated into outpatient practice while remaining current with evolving evidence-based guidelines across multiple specialties essential to modern primary care.

Product Details

• Course: Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026
• Provider: Medical Education Resources (MER)
• Conference Dates: May 15–17, 2026
• Location: SpringHill Suites Springdale/Zion National Park, Zion, Utah, USA
• Format: Videos
• Language: English
• Educational Level: Intermediate to Advanced
• Learning Format: Expert Lectures, Clinical Case Discussions, Guideline Reviews

Course Overview

Primary care physicians are increasingly responsible for managing chronic cardiovascular disease, substance use disorders, and common dermatologic conditions while coordinating preventive healthcare and long-term patient management. Continuous advances in clinical guidelines require clinicians to remain current with evolving recommendations for diagnosis, risk stratification, pharmacologic therapy, and preventive medicine.

MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026 delivers a comprehensive review of these essential disciplines through evidence-based presentations and practical clinical scenarios. Faculty members provide updated recommendations for coronary artery disease, hypertension, dyslipidemia, heart failure, addiction treatment, alcohol use disorder, opioid-related care, dermatologic diagnosis, acne management, skin cancer screening, and office-based dermatologic procedures.

The curriculum emphasizes practical decision-making, early disease recognition, patient counseling, and implementation of current clinical guidelines to improve patient outcomes in the primary care setting.

What You'll Learn

After completing this course, participants will be able to:

• Evaluate patients with suspected coronary artery disease using evidence-based diagnostic strategies.
• Apply current lipid and cholesterol guidelines to reduce cardiovascular risk.
• Diagnose and manage hypertension according to contemporary recommendations.
• Optimize pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management of heart failure.
• Recognize and treat substance use disorders and alcohol use disorder.
• Understand the evolving role of cannabinoids within the opioid crisis.
• Identify dermatologic manifestations of systemic diseases.
• Differentiate benign from malignant skin lesions and perform appropriate office-based procedures.

Comprehensive Topics Covered

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Develop a systematic approach to evaluating patients with suspected coronary artery disease.

Topics include:

• Coronary artery disease
• Chest pain evaluation
• Cardiovascular risk assessment
• Diagnostic testing
• Stress testing
• Coronary CT angiography
• Prevention strategies

Faculty review current evidence for selecting appropriate diagnostic pathways and optimizing patient outcomes.

Lipid Management & Cardiovascular Prevention

Strengthen preventive cardiology strategies.

Topics include:

• Lipid disorders
• Cholesterol management
• ASCVD prevention
• Statin therapy
• Non-statin therapies
• Lifestyle modification
• Primary prevention
• Secondary prevention

Hypertension

Review current recommendations for diagnosis and treatment.

Topics include:

• Blood pressure measurement
• Hypertension diagnosis
• Resistant hypertension
• Secondary hypertension
• Antihypertensive medications
• Lifestyle interventions
• Cardiovascular risk reduction

Heart Failure

Update your knowledge of contemporary heart failure management.

Topics include:

• Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF)
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
• Guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT)
• SGLT2 inhibitors
• ARNI therapy
• Diuretics
• Long-term disease management

Addiction Medicine

Improve recognition and management of substance use disorders.

Topics include:

• Substance use disorders
• Screening tools
• Brief intervention
• Medication-assisted treatment
• Recovery strategies
• Integrated behavioral care
• Relapse prevention

Faculty review evidence-based approaches for identifying and treating addiction in primary care.

Alcohol Use Disorder

Enhance clinical management of alcohol dependence.

Topics include:

• Alcohol use disorder
• Screening
• Withdrawal assessment
• Pharmacologic treatment
• Behavioral interventions
• Long-term recovery
• Patient counseling

Cannabinoids & the Opioid Crisis

Explore emerging evidence regarding cannabinoid use in modern addiction medicine.

Topics include:

• Medical cannabinoids
• Opioid crisis
• Pain management
• Harm reduction
• Evidence-based prescribing
• Public health considerations
• Clinical controversies

Dermatology for Primary Care

Develop confidence in diagnosing common skin disorders.

Topics include:

• Common dermatologic diseases
• Clinical skin examination
• Diagnostic algorithms
• Cutaneous manifestations
• Inflammatory skin disorders
• Office-based dermatology

Acne & Acneiform Disorders

Review evidence-based management of acne.

Topics include:

• Acne vulgaris
• Acneiform eruptions
• Topical therapies
• Oral antibiotics
• Isotretinoin
• Hormonal therapy
• Treatment algorithms

Skin Cancer & Skin Tumors

Strengthen early detection of cutaneous malignancies.

Topics include:

• Basal cell carcinoma
• Squamous cell carcinoma
• Melanoma
• Actinic keratosis
• Benign skin tumors
• Skin biopsy
• Cryotherapy
• Office procedures

Faculty discuss practical approaches for recognizing suspicious lesions and determining appropriate treatment or referral.

Dermatologic Clues to Internal Disease

Recognize skin findings associated with systemic illness.

Topics include:

• Cutaneous markers
• Autoimmune diseases
• Endocrine disorders
• Infectious diseases
• Connective tissue diseases
• Internal medicine correlations

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this educational activity, participants will be able to:

• Perform evidence-based evaluation of patients with suspected coronary artery disease.
• Implement current cholesterol and lipid management guidelines for cardiovascular prevention.
• Diagnose and manage hypertension using contemporary treatment recommendations.
• Apply guideline-directed therapy for heart failure.
• Identify and treat substance use disorders and alcohol use disorder.
• Evaluate the role of cannabinoids within opioid-related care.
• Diagnose common dermatologic disorders using a structured clinical approach.
• Differentiate benign from malignant skin tumors and detect precancerous skin lesions.

Educational Highlights

• Internal Medicine
• Primary Care
• Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)
• Preventive Cardiology
• Hypertension
• Heart Failure
• Lipid Management
• Cholesterol Guidelines
• Addiction Medicine
• Substance Use Disorder
• Alcohol Use Disorder
• Cannabinoids
• Opioid Crisis
• Dermatology
• Acne
• Skin Cancer
• Melanoma
• Dermatologic Procedures
• Preventive Medicine
• Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Why This Course Stands Out

MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026 combines three high-impact disciplines into a single comprehensive educational program tailored for busy primary care clinicians. By integrating the latest cardiovascular guidelines, addiction medicine advances, and dermatologic updates with practical outpatient management strategies, the course provides immediately applicable knowledge that enhances diagnostic accuracy, preventive care, and evidence-based treatment across a broad range of clinical conditions.

Target Audience

This educational activity is ideal for:

• Primary Care Physicians
• Internal Medicine Physicians
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Cardiologists
• Addiction Medicine Physicians
• Dermatologists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Preventive Medicine Physicians
• Hospitalists
• Internal Medicine Residents
• Family Medicine Residents
• Healthcare Professionals involved in outpatient adult medicine

Why Choose This Course?

Whether you practice primary care, internal medicine, family medicine, cardiology, addiction medicine, or dermatology, MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care – Addiction, Cardiology & Dermatology 2026 provides an outstanding evidence-based review of today's most relevant outpatient medical conditions. Featuring expert faculty, guideline-driven recommendations, practical clinical algorithms, and case-based discussions, this course equips clinicians to deliver high-quality, patient-centered care while remaining current with rapidly evolving standards of practice.

4. Topics

Cardiology

• Work-up of Patients with Suspected CAD: Risk factor evaluation and risk assessment models; Test selection including ECG, echo, nuclear and newer imaging modalities (including discussion of appropriate use criteria–AUC); The usefulness of CT scanning; The role of bio markers and EBCT; Suspected CAD in special populations (women, diabetics, the elderly).

• Primary & Secondary Prevention of CAD: Definitions; AHA/ACC and other lipid guidelines updates; HDL Cholesterol: The good cholesterol?; Metabolic syndrome and/or obesity; Who needs treatment and how much; The role of lifestyle changes, exercise and cardiac rehabilitation; Drug therapy updates; Risk calculation.

• Hypertension: The 2017 AHA/ACC Hypertension Guidelines; The 2024 ESC Guidelines for hypertension; Approaches to treatment thresholds and goals; Choices for initial and combination therapy; Resistant hypertension; Treating special populations: diabetics, the elderly, patients with renal failure.

• Heart Failure: Etiologies and stages of heart failure; ACC/AHA Heart Failure Guidelines; Heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF) and heart failure with preserved EF (HFpEF); Determining patients for referral using biomarkers, eg NT Pro BNP; Treatment options: ACE inhibitors, ARBS, ARNI, beta blockers, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists, SGLT2i; The role of devices in treatment and antiplatelet drugs; Issues related to the hospitalized patient with acute decompensated heart failure and readmissions.

Addiction

• Substance Use and Addiction: Screening and Brief Intervention: Essential information and skills needed for identifying substance use concerns; Epidemiology, screening tools and the stages of change; Practical steps for initial intervention in the primary care setting.

• Addiction Psychopharmacology for Alcohol Use Disorder: The scope of alcohol related problems and the societal burden of Alcohol Use Disorder; Overview of FDA-approved as well as pertinent off-label pharmacotherapies for Alcohol Use Disorder.

• Substance Use and Addiction: Diagnosis and Treatment: Definition of addiction and its neurobiological basis; Examination of the diagnosis of substance use disorder and ASAM’s multidimensional assessment; Treatment and relapse challenges; The use of motivational interviewing.

• Addiction Psychopharmacology for Opioid Use Disorder: Opioid crisis update; Assessing risk factors for opioid overdose; FDA approved medication for treating overdose; FDA approved medication assisted treatment options for managing opioid addiction.

Dermatology

• Skin Manifestations of Systemic Disease: Skin will often reflect signs of systemic diseases, be useful for diagnosis, or suffer from a complication of disease or its treatment; Diagnosis of rheumatalogic, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and psychologic conditions based on cutaneous findings.

• Acne and Acneiform Eruptions: Identification of noninflammatory open or closed comedones and inflammatory lesions; Determination of treatment therapies based on acne grading scale; Bacterial folliculitis, drug-induced acne, hidradenitis suppurativa, miliaria, perioral dermatits, pseudofolliculitis barbae, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis; Topical and systemic therapy.

• Benign Skin Tumors: Proper diagnosis and treatment of common benign tumors; Biopsies and histopathologic examination; Nevi, seborrheic keratosis keloids, hemangiomas and miscellaneous tumors; When to refer.

• Premalignant and Malignant Skin Tumors: Recognition of precursors of malignancies; Excisional and punch biopsies; Actinic keratosis, Bowen’s disease, squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, melanoma and other selected tumors; Risk reduction education.