We have partnered with COPIC to discuss Critical issues in the Opioid Crisis.
Opioid Crisis: Strategies for Reducing the Burden
In response to the opioid epidemic and the role of health care professionals in it, this seminar reviews the reasoning and criteria for opioid dose reduction and discontinuation, teaching techniques to encourage patient buy-in while overcoming fear and resistance.
Learning Objectives: • Review candidate selection and standard of care monitoring practices for patients taking chronic opioid therapy (COT). • Learn to communicate the risks of COT and to instruct patients on harm reduction techniques. • List appropriate scenarios for opioid dose reduction or discontinuation. • Learn behavioral strategies to overcome patient resistance to dose change and to encourage buy-in, including gaining comfort with difficult patient interactions around opioid dose changes. • Master dose reduction schedules and aggressive opioid withdrawal management to promote successful weaning and discontinuation. • Recognize diagnostic criteria for opioid use disorder.
Opioid Management: A Practical Approach to a National Crisis
This seminar examines the scope of the opioid problem, and how to effectively use the guidance of the CDC, FDA, medical boards, and other best practices. Based on these resources, we describe practical approaches to practice more safely with opioids. • Describe the current opioid epidemic, state and national data, and the various contributions to it.
Learning Objectives: • State the difference between tolerance, physical dependence, and addiction. • Distinguish the specific liability risks in the medical treatment of pain; including misdiagnosis, overprescribing or under prescribing, overdose, abandonment, diversion, and vicarious liability. • Review materials related to recently adopted guidelines from the CDC and/or state medical boards for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain. • Apply tools to use in prescribing in the setting of chronic pain, including risk assessment, clinical and functional diagnoses, PDMP, opioid agreements, MED calculations, indications for pain specialist consultation, and appropriate documentation.
When: Wednesday, March 22, 2023 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Where: Over Zoom. A link will be sent closer to the event.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Eric Zacharias has been involved with COPIC for over ten years, first as a member of the clinical faculty and, most recently, as a Patient Safety and Risk Management consultant and the creator/host of COPIC’s “Within Normal Limits” podcast. He serves as an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Dr. Zacharias is also the author of “The Mediterranean Diet: A Clinician’s Guide for Patient Care,” a scientific look at the basis, components, and benefits of this approach to good health.
Dr. Zacharias attended Mississippi State University as an undergraduate and Vanderbilt University for medical school. He completed his residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of Colorado and practiced internal medicine at the Boulder Medical Center in a multispecialty group for over 25 years. Dr. Zacharias is currently the Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine and Medical Director at the Boulder Medical Center.
CME: The AAFP has reviewed CAFP Virtual CME: Part 1, and deemed it acceptable for AAFP credit. Term of approval is from 01/01/2023 to 04/30/2023. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.This session: Critical issues in the Opioid Crisis is approved for 2 Live Prescribed credits.
AMA/AAFP Equivalency: AAFP Prescribed credit is accepted by the American Medical Association as equivalent to AMA PRA Category 1 credit(s)™ toward the AMA Physician’s Recognition Award. When applying for the AMA PRA, Prescribed credit earned must be reported as Prescribed, not as Category 1.
For all AAFP credit equivalencies and recognition, please see the AAFP Credit System website.