The annual Primary Care Conference will be held at Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center on Saturday, Jan. 25, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Physicians and other healthcare professionals who attend will learn about current topics and challenges in primary care.

“We are very excited to offer dynamic and engaging speakers for this conference,” said Fred Young, M.D., internal medicine physician with Piedmont Physicians Hawthorne Medical at Piedmont’s Oconee Health Campus. He also serves as the chair of the conference planning committee.

According to Dr. Young, the need for this conference is important to keep primary care providers up-to-date on the latest advances in the field. “The challenge with primary care is not only the breadth of the specialties like internal medicine and family practice, but also the need to stay current. Keeping up with the latest evidence-based recommendations can be overwhelming for busy healthcare professionals,” Dr. Young said. “Our upcoming Primary Care Conference provides healthcare professionals with a convenient way to stay up-to-date on a variety of clinical topics commonly seen in primary care.”  

The conference, now in its 11th year, draws participants from all over northeast Georgia. Topics for this year’s conference include human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention, vaping effects, transgender medicine, infectious disease, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, opioid prescribing, osteoporosis, and behavioral health integration in primary care. The conference will also discuss updates on community health.

Piedmont’s Primary Care Conference will be held in Piedmont Athens Regional’s Medical Services Building located at 242 King Avenue in Athens. 

This conference is open to all members of the healthcare community, and continuing education credit is available for physicians, nurses, and pharmacists. Piedmont Athens Regional is accredited by the Medical Association of Georgia to provide continuing medical education.