Prescription Opioids and Pain Management: The Tennessee Guidelines
Course #95131 - $15 -
- Participation Instructions
- Review the course material online or in print.
- Complete the course evaluation.
- Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
Opioid analgesic medications can bring substantial relief to patients suffering from pain. However, the inappropriate use, abuse, and diversion of prescription drugs in America, particularly prescription opioids, has increased dramatically in recent years and has been identified as a national public health epidemic. Tennessee continues to rank in the top 10 states according to per capita prescription rate for opioids in the United States, and unintentional overdose deaths continue to increase each year. In response, the state has established tools and guidelines for prescribers who prescribe patients with opioids. By implementing these tools, clinicians can effectively address issues related to the clinical management of opioid prescribing, opioid risk management, regulations surrounding the prescribing of opioids, and problematic opioid use by patients. In doing so, healthcare professionals are more likely to achieve a balance between the benefits and risks of opioid prescribing, optimize patient attainment of therapeutic goals, and avoid the risk to patient outcome, public health, and viability of their own practice imposed by deficits in knowledge.
- INTRODUCTION
- SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM
- PAIN SYNDROMES AND PRESCRIPTION OPIOID USE
- CREATING A TREATMENT PLAN AND ASSESSMENT OF ADDICTION RISK
- IDENTIFICATION OF DRUG DIVERSION/SEEKING BEHAVIORS
- INTERVENTIONS FOR SUSPECTED OR KNOWN ADDICTION OR DRUG DIVERSION
- COMPLIANCE WITH STATE AND FEDERAL LAWS
- CONCLUSION
- RESOURCES
- Works Cited
- Evidence-Based Practice Recommendations Citations
This course is designed for all clinicians who may alter prescribing practices or intervene to prevent drug diversion and inappropriate opioid use.
The purpose of this course is to provide updated clinical guidance on management of chronic pain, including opioid prescription drug use that conforms with the Tennessee Department of Health recommendations and core competencies developed by the Commission on Pain and Addiction Medicine Education. Included is a discussion of clinical tools used to assess the risk of drug-seeking and drug-diverting behaviors. The goal is best practice chronic pain management while preventing the growing public health problem of drug misuse, diversion, and overdose.
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
- Apply epidemiologic trends in opioid use and misuse to current practice so at-risk patient populations can be more easily identified, evaluated, and treated.
- Devise treatment plans for patients with pain that address patient needs, inform patient expectations, and reduce the risk of drug misuse and diversion in accordance with Tennessee clinical practice guidelines.
- Evaluate behaviors that may indicate drug seeking or diverting as well as approaches for patients suspected of misusing opioids.
- Apply state and federal laws governing the proper prescription and monitoring of controlled substances.
John M. Leonard, MD, Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, completed his post-graduate clinical training at the Yale and Vanderbilt University Medical Centers before joining the Vanderbilt faculty in 1974. He is a clinician-educator and for many years served as director of residency training and student educational programs for the Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine. Over a career span of 40 years, Dr. Leonard conducted an active practice of general internal medicine and an inpatient consulting practice of infectious diseases.
Contributing faculty, John M. Leonard, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
John V. Jurica, MD, MPH
Jane C. Norman, RN, MSN, CNE, PhD
The division planners have disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
Sarah Campbell
The Director of Development and Academic Affairs has disclosed no relevant financial relationship with any product manufacturer or service provider mentioned.
The purpose of NetCE is to provide challenging curricula to assist healthcare professionals to raise their levels of expertise while fulfilling their continuing education requirements, thereby improving the quality of healthcare.
Our contributing faculty members have taken care to ensure that the information and recommendations are accurate and compatible with the standards generally accepted at the time of publication. The publisher disclaims any liability, loss or damage incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents. Participants are cautioned about the potential risk of using limited knowledge when integrating new techniques into practice.
It is the policy of NetCE not to accept commercial support. Furthermore, commercial interests are prohibited from distributing or providing access to this activity to learners.
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The role of implicit biases on healthcare outcomes has become a concern, as there is some evidence that implicit biases contribute to health disparities, professionals' attitudes toward and interactions with patients, quality of care, diagnoses, and treatment decisions. This may produce differences in help-seeking, diagnoses, and ultimately treatments and interventions. Implicit biases may also unwittingly produce professional behaviors, attitudes, and interactions that reduce patients' trust and comfort with their provider, leading to earlier termination of visits and/or reduced adherence and follow-up. Disadvantaged groups are marginalized in the healthcare system and vulnerable on multiple levels; health professionals' implicit biases can further exacerbate these existing disadvantages.
Interventions or strategies designed to reduce implicit bias may be categorized as change-based or control-based. Change-based interventions focus on reducing or changing cognitive associations underlying implicit biases. These interventions might include challenging stereotypes. Conversely, control-based interventions involve reducing the effects of the implicit bias on the individual's behaviors. These strategies include increasing awareness of biased thoughts and responses. The two types of interventions are not mutually exclusive and may be used synergistically.