Register today for live webinars on Oct. 15, 29 and Nov. 5

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will host webinars for health care providers to discuss two topics related to Medicare star ratings:

Here’s an overview:

Clinical considerations for the use of nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics in patients 65 years and older
This webinar was rescheduled from Sept. 24.

Date: Oct. 15, 2014

Time: 7:30 a.m.

Length: 30-minute webinar, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Speaker: Karen E. Hall, M.D., Ph.D. Dr. Hall is a clinical professor in the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at the University of Michigan Healthcare System, the medical director at U. of M. St. Joseph Hospital’s Acute Care for Elders Unit, and a research scientist at the V.A. Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center. She is board-certified in internal medicine, with subspecialties in geriatric medicine, and hospice and palliative medicine.

Is it time to stop prescribing glyburide?
The webinar was rescheduled from Oct, 1.

Date: Oct. 29, 2014

Time: 7:30 a.m.

Length: 30-minute webinar, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Speaker: Jeffrey A. Sanfield, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.D.E. Dr. Sanfield is board-certified in internal medicine with subspecialties in endocrinology and metabolism. He is the department chair of Internal Medicine at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor, medical director of the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital Center for Diabetes and Nutrition, and president of Ann Arbor Endocrinology and Diabetes.

Clinical considerations for the use of skeletal muscle relaxants in patients 65 years and older

Date: Nov. 5, 2014

Time: 7:30 a.m

Length: 30-minute webinar, followed by a question-and-answer session.

Speaker: Carl Christensen, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.S.A.M., F.A.C.O.G. Dr. Christensen is a board-certified OB/GYN and a clinical associate professor in the Department of Obstetrics-Gynecology at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. He is the medical director of the James Wardell Women’s Recovery Center, the Tolan Medical Research Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry at WSU, and the Michigan Health Professional Recovery Program. He is also the past president of the Michigan Society of Addiction Medicine.

To register, email SEprofessionaleducationregistration@bcbsm.com. Include the date, time and name of the class you wish to attend, as well as your national provider identifier. You’ll receive a confirmation email within 72 hours of registering. Instructions on how to access the webinar via WebEx will be sent in the confirmation email or prior to the webinar.

Note: At the conclusion of each webinar, we’ll provide attendees with an email address for additional questions.

For questions about the content of the webinar or the registration process, contact Lawrence Beal at 313-225-8981. For technical issues or questions, call the BCBSM Web Support Help Desk at 1-877-258-3932.

Additional webinars in this series will be announced in future issues of The Record and on web-DENIS.