Available until February 1, 2026

If we see older patients, we commonly see Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementias in our practice. At times, the presenting symptoms can be quite subtle and it’s not uncommon for the diagnosis to take several years to establish. Very often, any early symptoms which are noticed are attributed to the aging process. Although we don’t have very effective options for treating dementia, it’s still important to diagnose the condition as early as possible. In this podcast, we’ll be discussing “Assessing the Older Patient with New Cognitive Symptoms.” We’ll review the usefulness of a mental status exam, recommended lab tests, whether a brain imaging study is indicated and more with our guest, Ericka E. Tung, M.D., M.P.H., an internist, and geriatrician from the Division of Community Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

Pain management is a combination of science and art. We have a variety of treatment options to choose from however some have significant potential for harm and some the potential to be abused and carry the risk of dependence. We need to choose our treatments carefully, based on the type of pain we are treating as well as other health conditions found in our patient. In addition to the various analgesic products, other options include injections, nerve blocks and several integrative medicine alternatives. In this podcast, we’ll discuss the various pain management options we have available and hopefully give you some new ideas to help manage pain in your patients. Our guest for this podcast is Christy L. Hunt, D.O., a Pain Medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until August 3, 2026 - Online CME Course

What's New in Family Medicine 2022-2023 online course is the 3rd in a series that focuses on a myriad of topics that are important to the broad specialty of family medicine. It will provide learners with current and relevant updates for daily management of various patient health concerns encountered commonly in primary care. Some topics that will be explored are reducing health care disparities; assessing and managing a psychiatric crisis; antimicrobial stewardship; HIV PREP; aspirin for primary prevention of CV disease; facilitation of advanced care planning and subjects that are always important to primary care including the evaluation of anemia and updates in diabetes management including the use of continuous glucose monitors. New guidelines were issued in 2022 addressing the management of mastitis spectrum disorders and the use of opioids for treatment of pain will be discussed and Point of care ultrasound (POCUS), an emerging modality in primary care, will also be explored.

Available until June 27, 2025 - Online CME Course

This online CME course is recommended for primary care providers. The course is comprised of Mayo Clinic Talks podcast interviews about various presentations, evaluation and treatment of headaches, as well as the management of migraines. Listen in the course or using your favorite podcast app, then return here to take a short assessment and claim credit.

Available until February 1, 2026

Millions of Americans suffer from seasonal allergies causing a variety of symptoms which often force them to stay indoors and limit their activities. Allergic rhinitis carries a significant economic burden accounting for an estimated 2 million lost school days, and 6 million lost workdays per year. Fortunately, there are numerous treatment options available. The topic for today’s podcast is seasonal allergies and our guest is Mansi J. Kanuga, M.D., an allergist at the Mayo Clinic. We’ll discuss how to use the patient’s history to determine the patient’s allergies, when allergy tests are indicated and management of seasonal allergies.

Available until February 1, 2026

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death to individuals in the U.S. Many feel that our typical American diet with its high saturated fat content is a major contributor to this. There’s good evidence that shows plant-based diets are cost-effective in lowering the risk factors for cardiovascular disease including obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes. They may also lower the number of medications an individual needs to take to manage their chronic diseases. So, are there any disadvantages to a plant-based diet? Are all plant-based diets healthy and what are the nutritional challenges for a patient on a plant-based diet? We’ll discuss these questions in this podcast on “Plant-Based Diets”. Our guest is Lisa Lammert, a registered dietician and nutritionist at the Mayo Clinic.

Available until February 1, 2026

Pulmonary function tests are extremely useful in both diagnosing and managing patients with respiratory disease. In addition to a medical history, physical exam and imaging studies, they give us a great deal of information of the pulmonary physiology and help us understand why patients have various respiratory symptoms. However, there are quite a number of pulmonary function tests available to us and which tests we should order can be confusing. Do we know when spirometry, lung volumes or diffusion capacity will be useful for evaluating the various pulmonary conditions? Our guest for this podcast is Dr. Alexander Niven, from the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the Mayo Clinic and he’ll provide answers to these questions and more as we discuss “How to Use Pulmonary Function Tests Effectively”.