MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Geriatrics, Pain & Rheumatology 2026

The MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Geriatrics, Pain & Rheumatology 2026 program provides a practical, multidisciplinary review of common clinical problems encountered in primary care, particularly those involving older adults, chronic pain, musculoskeletal disorders, and rheumatic disease.

Organized by Medical Education Resources (MER), the original conference was held from July 17–19, 2026, at the Kimpton Hotel Eventi in New York, NY.

The program integrates clinically relevant updates in geriatric medicine, pain management, and rheumatology, with emphasis on evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, treatment, medication selection, functional improvement, and long-term patient management.

Course Details

• Provider: Medical Education Resources (MER)
• Course: Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Geri/Pain/Rheum
• Year: 2026
• Original Conference Dates: July 17–19, 2026
• Location: Kimpton Hotel Eventi, New York, NY
• Specialties: Internal Medicine, Geriatrics, Pain Medicine, Rheumatology
• Format: Primary Care Medical Education
• Primary Focus: Practical Evidence-Based Clinical Updates

Who Should Attend?

This program is targeted to office-based primary care providers and other healthcare professionals seeking clinically relevant updates in geriatrics, pain medicine, and rheumatology.

Best For

• Primary Care Physicians
• Internal Medicine Physicians
• Family Medicine Physicians
• Geriatricians
• Pain Management Specialists
• Rheumatologists
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Healthcare professionals caring for older adults and patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Geriatric Medicine

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment

Review a structured approach to identifying important medical, functional, cognitive, and social concerns in older adults.

Clinical considerations include:

• Functional status
• Mobility
• Frailty
• Cognitive function
• Medication review
• Fall risk
• Comorbid disease
• Social support
• Patient safety

Heart Failure in Older Adults

Review evidence-based assessment and management strategies for:

• Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction
• Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
• Clinical assessment
• Volume status
• Guideline-directed treatment
• Medication management
• Functional status
• Coordination with cardiology

Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms & Urinary Incontinence

Review common lower urinary tract symptoms that may progress to urinary incontinence.

Topics include:

• Urinary urgency
• Frequency
• Nocturia
• Incontinence
• Clinical assessment
• Contributing medications
• Initial treatment options
• Referral considerations

Cognitive Impairment, Dementia & Alzheimer’s Disease

Review approaches to the diagnosis and management of:

• Mild cognitive impairment
• Dementia
• Alzheimer’s disease
• Progressive cognitive decline

Topics include:

• Cognitive screening
• Differential diagnosis
• Clinical evaluation
• Treatment options
• Functional assessment
• Patient safety
• Caregiver support
• Long-term management

Pain Management

Low Back Pain

Review evidence-based non-surgical treatment approaches for patients with low back pain.

Topics include:

• Clinical evaluation
• Identification of red flags
• Mechanical low back pain
• Activity modification
• Physical therapy
• Exercise
• Functional rehabilitation
• Conservative management strategies

Fibromyalgia

Review current approaches to the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Topics include:

• Clinical diagnosis
• Chronic widespread pain
• Fatigue
• Sleep disturbance
• Pharmacologic treatment
• Medication adverse-effect profiles
• Exercise
• Non-pharmacologic treatment
• Long-term management

Opioid Pain Management

Review principles for developing appropriate opioid treatment strategies when opioid therapy is clinically indicated.

Topics include:

• Patient selection
• Risk-benefit assessment
• Treatment goals
• Safe prescribing
• Medication monitoring
• Adverse effects
• Risk mitigation
• Ongoing reassessment
• Integration with non-opioid therapies

Rheumatology

Osteoarthritis

Review current evidence for the management of osteoarthritis.

Topics include:

• Clinical diagnosis
• Joint assessment
• Exercise
• Weight management
• Physical therapy
• Pharmacologic treatment
• Pain management
• Functional improvement

Inflammatory Arthritis

Develop a structured differential diagnosis for patients presenting with inflammatory joint disease.

Topics include:

• Joint distribution
• Morning stiffness
• Joint swelling
• Systemic symptoms
• Laboratory evaluation
• Inflammatory markers
• Autoantibody testing
• Differential diagnosis
• Referral considerations

Osteoporosis

Review the benefits and potential risks of bisphosphonate therapy.

Topics include:

• Osteoporosis diagnosis
• Fracture-risk assessment
• Bone mineral density
• Indications for treatment
• Bisphosphonate therapy
• Treatment duration
• Potential adverse effects
• Monitoring

Gout

Review the diagnosis and treatment of gout.

Topics include:

• Hyperuricemia
• Acute gout attacks
• Crystal arthritis
• Diagnostic evaluation
• Acute treatment
• Urate-lowering therapy
• Lifestyle considerations
• Prevention of recurrence

Pseudogout

Review clinical assessment and treatment of calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD).

Topics include:

• Acute crystal arthritis
• Differential diagnosis
• Joint involvement
• Diagnostic evaluation
• Treatment
• Recurrent disease management

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this program, participants should be better able to:

• Utilize a comprehensive geriatric assessment to identify potential issues in older patients.
• Describe evidence-based assessment and treatment plans for heart failure with reduced and preserved ejection fraction.
• Review common lower urinary tract symptoms and initiate appropriate treatment strategies.
• Diagnose and treat cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.
• Utilize current evidence to develop treatment strategies for osteoarthritis.
• Describe the benefits of activity modification and physical therapy in low back pain.
• Compare the benefits and adverse-effect profiles of pharmacologic treatment options for fibromyalgia.
• Develop appropriate opioid pain-management strategies.
• Describe the differential diagnosis of inflammatory arthritis based on clinical presentation and laboratory evaluation.
• Identify the risks and benefits of bisphosphonate therapy for osteoporosis.
• Diagnose and treat gout and pseudogout.
• Integrate principles of geriatrics, pain medicine, and rheumatology into primary care practice.

Major Clinical Topics

Geriatrics

• Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment
• Heart Failure
• Cognitive Impairment
• Dementia
• Alzheimer’s Disease
• LUTS
• Urinary Incontinence

Pain Medicine

• Chronic Pain
• Low Back Pain
• Fibromyalgia
• Opioid Therapy
• Physical Therapy
• Functional Rehabilitation

Rheumatology

• Osteoarthritis
• Inflammatory Arthritis
• Osteoporosis
• Bisphosphonates
• Gout
• Pseudogout
• Crystal Arthritis

Why This Course Is Valuable

The MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Geriatrics, Pain & Rheumatology 2026 program brings together three highly interconnected areas of everyday primary care.

Many patients—particularly older adults—present with overlapping conditions involving:

Cognitive Decline → Multimorbidity → Osteoarthritis → Chronic Pain → Functional Limitation → Polypharmacy

The course helps clinicians develop practical strategies for assessing and managing these complex patients while integrating contemporary approaches to geriatrics, musculoskeletal medicine, chronic pain, and rheumatic disease.

3. Short Description

The MER Internal Medicine for Primary Care: Geriatrics, Pain & Rheumatology 2026 program covers geriatric assessment, heart failure, cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, urinary symptoms, osteoarthritis, low back pain, fibromyalgia, opioid pain management, inflammatory arthritis, osteoporosis, gout, and pseudogout.

Topics

• Geriatrics – Approach to the Geriatric Patient: The demographics of aging and the physiologic changes in the elderly patient; Medication use in the elderly including changes in age-related pharmacokinetics and pharmacodymamics and medication adherence; Review of risky medications often used in elderly patients.

• Geriatrics – Heart Failure in Older Adults: Recognition of the high mortality associated with heart failure; Understanding how to diagnose heart failure and the difference between reduced ejection fraction and preserved ejection fraction heart failure; Evidence based treatments available for heart failure.

• Geriatrics – Urological Disorders in the Older Adult: Review of two very common conditions seen in the elderly population: benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and urinary incontinence; Pathogenesis, clinical symptoms, recommended evaluation and management options for BPH; Review of the anatomy and mechanism of normal urinary function, causes of incontinence, the evaluation and management.

• Pain – Chronic Pain Types and Osteoarthritis: Chronic pain is much more complex than just acute pain that lasts a long time; The physiology and categorization of chronic pain will be explored; Osteoarthritis has characteristics of more than one category of chronic pain; Characteristics that affect treatment planning.

• Pain – Back Pain: Back pain is a common cause of long term disability; Non-pharmacologic and pharmacologic interventions will be discussed for a variety of causes of back pain including failed back surgery syndrome.

• Pain – Fibromyalgia and Cannabinoids for Chronic Pain: Fibromyalgia is a classic example of the nociplastic chronic pain category; A variety of treatment modalities will be discussed; In addition, the evidence regarding the use of cannabinoids for chronic pain will be presented.

• Pain – Safe Opioid Prescribing: The role of opioids in the management of chronic pain will be addressed in the contexts of the updated CDC guidelines and the increasing prevalence of opioid use disorder.

• Geriatrics – Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias: Review of normal age-related changes in cognitive function as well as disorders of memory and cognition as part of dementing illness; Mental status exams, including their limitations in evaluating memory; Various types of dementia and the importance of an accurate diagnosis; Current treatment options for various kinds of dementia; Potentially reversible dementias; The responsibilities of healthcare providers in managing patients with dementia.

• Rheumatology – Osteoarthritis: Pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment.

• Rheumatology – Differential Diagnosis of Inflammatory Arthritis: Clinical presentation and laboratory work-up and treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, spondyloarthropathies (SPA), infectious arthritis and systemic sclerosis; Treatment of RA with DMARDs; Treatment principles of SLE, Sjogren’s, SPA and PMR.

• Rheumatology – Osteoporosis: Review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of osteoporosis along with interpretation of DEXA scans and FRAX risk assessment; up-to-date therapeutic options.

• Rheumatology – Crystal Disease: Gout & Pseudogout: Properly diagnosing and treating crystal diseases such as gout and pseudogout.