OVERVIEW

Opioid Analgesics: Best Practices for Prescribing, Dispensing, and Preventing Diversion is organized by Power-Pak C.E Continuing Education for Pharmacists & Pharmacy Technicians and will be held from Feb 21, 2017 - Feb 21, 2020. This Course has been approved for a maximum of 3.0 hours (0.30 ceu)

Target Audience:
This accredited activity has been designed for pharmacists.

Goal:
To increase pharmacists' understanding of opioid use, diversion, and abuse in West Virginia; review safe and effective opioid prescribing and dispensing practices for pain management; and review opioid antagonist prescribing and administration in West Virginia.

Objectives:
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:
• Using data from West Virginia, describe the epidemiology of chronic pain, demographics of patients who abuse opioids, addiction/abuse risk factors, and opioids' abuse potential
• Describe opioids' characteristics (including toxicities and drug interactions), associated use disorders, and behavioral responses to prescribed opioids
• Describe best practices for prescribing of opioid analgesics and management of patients with pain
• Discuss the complete range of legal requirements for controlled substance prescriptions, identification of fraudulent prescriptions, drug-seeking behaviors, and drug diversion
• Describe risk reduction approaches, including FDA risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (REMS), and the West Virginia Controlled Substance Monitoring Program
• Using a case study, apply best practices for opioid analgesics in ways that deal with known and potential abusers effectively, efficiently, and safely
• Educate patients on appropriate drug administration of naloxone rescue therapy and other overdose prevention strategies.

Additional details will be posted as soon as they are available.