The latest opioid prescribing and counseling recommendations (last updated on 10/2/2017) are available to download.
The recommendations include appropriate patient education and counseling for all patients.
Category Archives: Opioids
New Technique Can Help Pinpoint Where Heroin Batches Come From
New method describes measuring strontium isotopes can be used as a chemical marker for geography and geology to differentiate heroin samples from different geographic regions.
Joshua DeBord, Ali Pourmand, Sarah C. Jantzi, Sini Panicker, Jose Almirall. Profiling of heroin and assignment of provenance by 87 Sr/ 86 Sr isotope ratio analysis. Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.ica.2017.07.049
FDA To Require Opioid Manufacturers To Train Health Care Providers
The FDA “notified 74 manufacturers of immediate-release opioid analgesics intended for use in the outpatient setting that their drugs will now be subject to a more stringent set of requirements under a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS).
The REMS requires that training be made available to health care providers who prescribe IR opioids, including training on safe prescribing practices and consideration of non-opioid alternatives.”
https://blogs.fda.gov/fdavoice/index.php/2017/09/fda-takes-important-steps-to-stem-the-tide-of-opioid-misuse-and-abuse/
Emergency Rooms Using Shorter, Lower Doses of Opioids
A recent study from the Annals of Emergency Medicine founds that compared to other settings, emergency room prescriptions for opioids found more likely to be in compliance with CDC recommendations and have a lower risk of progression to long term opioid use.
- Opioid Prescribing for Opioid-Naive Patients in Emergency Departments and Other Settings: Characteristics of Prescriptions and Association With Long-Term Use
Jeffery, Molly Moore et al.
Annals of Emergency Medicine , Volume 0 , Issue 0 ,
CVS To Limit Opioid Prescriptions To 7 Days For New Patients
As part of CVS’s commitment to fighting the national opioid abuse epidemic, CVS is:
- limiting to seven days the supply of opioids dispensed for certain acute prescriptions for patients who are new to therapy;
- limiting the daily dosage of opioids dispensed based on the strength of the opioid; and
- requiring the use of immediate-release formulations of opioids before extended-release opioids are dispensed.
“Holistic, Multimodal” approach to acute pain treatment in opioid dependent patients
Coleen Dever, MSN, AGCNS-BC, CEN, TRCN, of Christiana Care Health System, Wilmington, Del reviews the management of acute pain in patients already addicted to opioids.
September/October Journal of Trauma Nursing, official publication of the Society of Trauma Nurses.
Hard Questions To Ask Yourself and Your Doctor About Opioids for Pain Relief
The American Society of Anesthesiologists suggests you ask yourself and your physician some tough questions about pain medications, whether related to surgery or not.
Some of the questions are straightforward including:
WHY WAS I PRESCRIBED OPIOIDS?
ARE THERE OTHER PAIN MANAGEMENT OPTIONS?
Download this informative brochure from the American Society of Anesthesiologists