Fertility Treatment Add-Ons: Evaluating Clinical Value (Podcast)

Activity description

Clinicians providing infertility care are seeing a growing number of diagnostic tests and treatment “add‑ons,” many of which have variable evidence and inconsistent alignment with clinical guidelines. This lack of clarity can contribute to inconsistent counseling, unnecessary or low‑value interventions and patient confusion about the benefits and risks of available options. This activity will support the interprofessional care team in applying evidence-based evaluation and treatment strategies and in counseling patients about standard versus nonstandard approaches, including shared decision-making and ethical considerations.

This activity is designed to support members of the health care team—including physicians, nurses and case managers—in applying evidence-based evaluation, treatment strategies, shared decision-making and ethical considerations as a part of infertility evaluation, team-based patient counseling, care coordination and treatment planning for patients considering fertility treatment add-ons. 

At the end of this activity, participants should be able to: 

  • Differentiate standard infertility evaluation approaches from commonly used nonstandard tests based on current evidence and guideline alignment. 
  • Discuss the evidence, risks, benefits, and limitations for selected fertility treatment add-ons (e.g., adjunctive lab tests/procedures) to support shared decision-making. 
  • Apply evidence-based criteria to select appropriate diagnostic and treatment strategies for common infertility scenarios, including when to avoid low-value interventions. 
  • Collaborate with members of the interprofessional care team to develop consistent counseling messages and care coordination strategies that align with evidence-based infertility management.


Provided by
This activity is provided by Optum Health Education and Optum Whole Health Solutions, Women’s Health. 

Commercial support
No commercial support was received for this activity.

Required hardware/software
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ACCOMPANYING WEBCAST

For more information on fertility add-ons, please also view the accompanying on-demand webcast. During the webcast, Dr. Estil Strawn will review the evidence, risks and limitations of commonly used interventions. Participants will learn to apply current guidelines, identify low-value approaches, and support ethical, evidence-based patient counseling. 

(Coming Soon)

Activity summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
Activity opens: 
07/23/2026
Activity expires: 
07/23/2029
Rating: 
0

Speakers 
Courtney Cano, BSN, RN
Fertility Nurse Case Manager
Optum Fertility Solutions

Rebecca Hays, BSN, RN 
Fertility Nurse Case Manager
Optum Fertility Solutions

Estil Strawn, MD 
Medical Director
Utilization Management Operations
Fertility Solutions, Optum Whole Health Solutions

Activity Planners
Elizabeth Albert, MD
Clinical Planner 
Optum Health Education

Susana Castro-Alcaraz, MD 
Senior Medical Director 
Optum Health Solutions 

Sarah Chart, RN 
Vice President
Optum Health Education

Disclosures of relevant financial relationships
In accordance with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education's (ACCME) Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education, Optum Health Education (OHE) requires all those in control of educational content to disclose their financial relationships with ineligible companies within the prior 24 months. Ineligible companies are defined by the ACCME as companies whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, re-selling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients. Individuals must disclose all financial relationships, regardless of the amount, with ineligible companies and regardless of their view of the relevance of the relationship to the education. OHE ensures that the content is independent of commercial bias.

The speaker and planners have no financial relationships to disclose.

Accreditation statement
In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Optum Health Education and Optum Whole Health Solutions, Women’s Health. Optum Health Education is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE) and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the health care team.
 

Credit designation statements
IPCE LogoThis activity was planned by and for the health care team, and learners will receive 1.00 Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credit for learning and change.

Case managers
The Commission for Case Manager Certification has approved this program for a maximum of 1.00 clock hours for Certified Case Managers (CCM).

Nurses
The participant will be awarded up to 1.00 contact hour(s) of credit for attendance and completion of supplemental materials.

Nurse practitioners
The American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Program (AANPCP) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME and ANCC.

Physicians
Optum Health Education designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

PAs
The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

Attendance
A certificate of attendance will be provided to learners upon completion of activity requirements, enabling participants to register with licensing boards or associations that have not been preapproved for credits. To apply for credit types not listed above, participants should use the procedure established by the specific organization from which they wish to obtain credit.

Available Credit

  • 1.00 AMA - Physicians
  • 1.00 ANCC - Nurses
  • 1.00 Attendance - General Attendance
  • 1.00 CCMC - General - Case Managers
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