Your Source for Opioid Education and Tools
The data and trends illustrating the impact of opioids on the United States and our communities are staggering. From rural to urban settings, communities are witnessing the growing and deadly impact of opioids. But health care providers at times feel caught between prescribing guidelines and patients’ needs.
Taking Action: How will education address the problem? Education is the foundation of change. Education beyond the headlines that not only raises awareness about the opioid epidemic, but also provides strategies for changes in practice and process that will mobilize the HCP workforce. Education provides an opportunity to help HCPs better understand the biologic underpinnings of pain pathways so that their decision-making is focused on treatment alternatives that are targeted, effective, and safe. And finally, education to the patient so that they understand their treatment—the why and the how—so that they understand what to expect, and if prescribed an opioid, how to safely dispose of unused medication to ensure it is not illegally diverted, and prepare them to help if a loved one is struggling with addiction or take action in case of an overdose.
Precise Prescribing: Applying the Science of Pain to Treatment Decisions
PAINWeekEND Medical Meetings | Various Dates & Locations
Evaluating patients with acute and chronic pain can be daunting, as the nervous system is complex. Appropriate prescribing for acute and chronic pain in the midst of the opioid epidemic requires that front-line prescribers have a strong knowledge of pain pathways and underlying mechanisms to optimize treatment decision-making.
These CME Outfitters symposiums will integrate 3-D modeling to bring pain and addiction mechanisms to life in order to promote a better understanding of evolving pain management strategies. Faculty will provide best practice strategies for the clinical assessment and management of acute and chronic pain aligned to supporting evidence and recommendations to guide safe and effective pharmacological and non-pharmacologic treatment choices.
Dates and Locations:
Saturday, March 23, 2019
12:00 AM – 1:00 AM
Scottsdale, AZ
Learn more: https://www.cmeoutfitters.com/transfers/cm/?ID=28502
Saturday, March 30, 2019
1:10 PM – 2:10 PM
Indianapolis, IN
Learn more: https://www.cmeoutfitters.com/transfers/cm/?ID=28504
Saturday, April 6, 2019
1:10 PM – 2:10 PM
Atlanta, GA
Learn more: https://www.cmeoutfitters.com/transfers/cm/?ID=28506
Saturday, May 4, 2019
1:10 PM – 2:10 PM
Raleigh, NC
Learn more: https://www.cmeoutfitters.com/transfers/cm/?ID=28507
Live Stream: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Call to Action to Save Our Communities
The impact of opioids on the United States and its communities is a constantly growing burden, and all health care providers (HCPs) should be taking a role in addressing the opioid epidemic. While HCPs can feel caught between prescribing guidelines and patients’ needs, it is critical that HCPs understand acute and chronic pain pathways and the underlying mechanisms in order to effectively assess and appropriately manage pain. This understanding is also key to making an impactful difference in their communities. To better understand pain pathways, Augmented Reality will transport learners into an interactive illustration of the brain/body reaction to pain and factors that influence pain perception. Join Dr. Gold and Dr. Stanos in an interactive discussion of pain management strategies to optimize safe and responsible management of chronic pain.
Understanding the Big Picture of Pain and Pain Assessment
The key to pain management is helping patients function better so that they can return to doing the things they enjoy. In this CME Outfitters short multimedia Snack, expert faculty discuss pain assessment tools and risk stratification so that clinicians can reach the goal of both augmenting top-down inhibition of pain and reducing catastrophic reaction in patients with chronic pain.
Providing the Right Expectations: Understanding the Pathophysiology of Pain
Evaluating patients with chronic pain can be a daunting task, as the nervous system is complex and knowing which type of pain the patient is experiencing – neuropathic, nociceptive, or nociplastic – is the best guide for where clinicians should focus their medication choices. In this multimedia Snack on understanding pain and how to treat it, expert faculty focus on the pathophysiology of pain and the underlying mechanisms to assessment and appropriate management.
The Role that Gender Plays in Pain Perception, Treatment, and Addiction
Gender plays an important role in pain, pain reception, and opioid use. In this CME Outfitters short multimedia Snack, expert faculty discuss how gender affects a patient’s proclivity to substance abuse disorders and engagement in treatment, as well as the emotional components that are often underlying causes of addiction.
Shifting Perspectives on Pain Management in Oral Surgery
There are several risk factors in opioid use in dental patients, including young age, the pre-opioid epidemic standard of practice being to prescribe opioids as a first-line treatment, and patients being prescribed a high number of tablets. Expert faculty discuss alternative pain management strategies for oral pain with a focus on finding a balance between compassion for patient care and patient safety in his short multimedia Snack.How PAs are Improving Skill Sets to Approach Opioid Use
Managing the Complexity of Chronic Pain in the Primary Care Setting
Primary care physicians can play a key role in making a difference in the opioid epidemic. PCPs are responsible for approximately 50% of opioid prescriptions and need to incorporate best practice strategies to optimize safe and competent prescribing, therefore minimizing potential for abuse and diversion. Although chronic pain is not something a physician can cure, if the patient feels understood and heard treatment will be more successful. This CME Outfitters Snack focuses on the complexity of chronic pain and how best to manage it in a primary care setting, with expert faculty discussing how PCPs and their patients can make informed decisions together.
New Perspectives and Approaches from Orthopedic Surgeons for the Management of Acute Pain
In light of the current opioid crisis, many states have put forward prescribing mandates and limits for opioids, but it is still important for physicians to have clinical practice guidelines. In this CME Outfitters Snack on the management of acute pain in orthopedic treatment, expert faculty discuss dispelling myths about non-opioid treatment options, how patients’ lives are impacted by their pain and the management of this pain, and how lessons learned in orthopedic treatment can apply to other practice settings.
Fatal Attraction: Why are Opioids so Addicting?
Early in the opioid crisis, physicians were the principle source of opioid use and abuse due to overprescribing, often leading to patients storing leftover prescriptions at home and friends or family members finding and using these leftovers. Unfortunately, simply restricting opioid prescriptions is not an effective strategy in a culture that has wildly available and accessible drugs of abuse available. This CME Outfitters Snack featuring Dr. Mark S. Gold focuses on the biological underpinnings of opioid addiction in order to educate clinicians on how to address the opioid epidemic in their communities.
Opioid Use Disorder in Special Populations: Making Recovery a Goal
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)
DEA Fact Sheet
The Drug Enforcement Administration is the premier drug enforcement organization in the world and the only single-mission federal agency dedicated to drug law enforcement. Using unique operational and intelligence capabilities, the men and women of DEA identify, investigate, disrupt, and dismantle major drug trafficking organizations and those who facilitate them, remove drugs and violent criminals from our neighborhoods, and fight the diversion of licit drugs.
How to Properly Dispose of Your Unused Medicines
Unused or expired prescription medications are a public safety issue, leading to potential accidental poisoning, misuse, and overdose. Proper disposal of unused drugs saves lives and protects the environment.
College Students
What You Should Know About…Marijuana Use Among College Students
Despite initiatives to approve the drug for medical and recreational use across the nation, students need to understand the physical, academic, and legal risks and consequences of marijuana use.
Prescription Drug Misuse Among College Students
Drug Abuse Among College Students Poster
Drug Abuse
Drugs of Abuse Resource Guide 2017
Fentanyl and Heroin – Trifold Broshure
Marijuana Concentrates Brochure
Marijuana Prevention Among Youth
Methamphetamine Drug Fact Card
MDMA Ecstasy and Molly Drug Fact Card
Prescription Abuse Drug Fact Card
Teens
Prescription For Disaster – How Teens Abuse Medicine
From Analytics to Understanding: A Look Into Our 3D Pain Animation’s Debut at CME Outfitters’ Opioid Epidemic Premiere Symposium
Family medicine providers are uniquely qualified to lead the charge for precise and responsible prescribing for acute and chronic pain. Family medicine is at the forefront of managing chronic illness, handling comorbidities, and coordinating care for their patients. A recent live meeting held at the Pennsylvania Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) used an animated 3-D model that learners were able to move, rotate, and zoom as they explored acute and chronic pain pathways.
Learn more in our latest blogBrainstorming Opioid Addiction through Merged Perspectives: Learnings from Roundtable Discussions
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 115 people die each day in the United States due to an opioid overdose. To better understand the nation’s current epidemic, CME Outfitters recently brought together the perspectives of those most impacted by opioids in hopes of creating more effective strategies to avoid addiction in the coming years. These roundtable discussions, hosted by CME Outfitters, first pulled the experiences of both patients and their loved ones who have been affected by opioid dependency. Read more about the the four key takeaways that we learned.