ForuMS Gives MS Clinicians an Online Link to Latest Research

by Margarida Azevedo, MSc | November 17, 2015

ForuMS is a new interactive and online “journal club” where clinicians treating multiple sclerosis (MS) patients or involved in research can discuss and analyze recent papers from top peer-reviewed journals covering the latest advances in disease diagnosis and management.

The educational platform, sponsored by grants from Genzyme, Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, and Medtronic, uses Google Hangouts and each live session runs between 45 to 60 minutes. Clinicians can log in to the ForuMS: A Virtual Journal Club for MS Clinicians website to observe or join a discussion with a publication’s authors and others on its most important, take-home findings. The goal is to give the target audience — neurologists, physician assistants, nursing professionals, rehabilitation professionals, mental health professionals, case workers, and others — the latest information and discoveries regarding the disease.

The initiative is offered by the Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers (CMSC), Nurse Practitioner Alternatives (NPA) and Catamount Medical Education, and was developed by Dr. Patricia Coyle, Professor and Vice Chair (Clinical Affairs), Director of the MS Comprehensive Care Center at Stony Brook University Medical Center. Dr. Coyle serves as a moderator for ForuMS live events.

Said Dr. June Halper, Chief Executive Officer of CMSC, of the new platform in a press release, “ForuMS is a unique and convenient way for MS clinicians to hear and see leading experts discussing their recent published MS articles. Furthermore, participants can interact with the faculty during the live sessions by submitting their questions via text or email.”

The first discussion took place Oct. 28 and featured Dr. Anthony Traboulsee, Director and Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, discussing two publications, including one he authored, “Revised Recommendations of the CMSC Task Force for a Standardized MRI Protocol and Clinical Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Follow-up of Multiple Sclerosis.”

Six other live ForuMS sessions are planned. The next, set for Dec. 2, has Dr. Mitzi Joi Williams, Neurologist at the Multiple Sclerosis Center of Atlanta, presenting two MS publications.

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About the Author

Margarida Azevedo, MSc Margarida graduated with a BS in Health Sciences from the University of Lisbon and a MSc in Biotechnology from Instituto Superior Técnico (IST-UL). She worked as a molecular biologist research associate at a Cambridge UK-based biotech company that discovers and develops therapeutic, fully human monoclonal antibodies.