Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)

Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) is organized by Rockpointe Corporation.

Release Date: June 28, 2019
Expiration Date: June 28, 2020

Accreditation:
CME Credit Designation
USF Health designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Abim Moc Designation Statement
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

Pharmacist Credit Designation 
The Potomac Center for Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 2.25 hours (0.225 CEUs) of continuing education credit (UAN number 0418-9999-19-002-H05-P).

Overview:
Pain continues to be a significant public-health problem in the US, causing significant reductions in patients’ quality of life. Despite the pain-relieving properties of opioid medications, patients with acute and chronic pain are often undertreated due to a variety of physician- and patient-related concerns and barriers, including the potential for misuse and abuse.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) developed the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) to ensure the benefits outweigh the risks with opioid treatments. The FDA Blueprint was recently updated to include more information on pain management, including components of an effective treatment plan, nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic treatments for pain (nonopioid and opioid analgesics), and a primer on addiction medicine. The updated blueprint applies not only to prescribers, but to all healthcare providers involved in the management of patients with acute and chronic pain.

Educational Objectives:
At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able to demonstrate the ability to:
• Identify risk factors and vulnerabilities associated with addiction to opioid analgesics and provide patient/caregiver counselling when necessary
• Discuss the components of an effective treatment plan, including patient interactions, treatment goals, and collaboration within the healthcare team 
• Analyze the specific benefits and risks to initiating non-medication therapies before utilizing long-term medications
• Recognize patients who are candidates for treatment with nonopioid pharmacologic analgesics
• Explain the decision to initiate long-term opioid analgesics, including ER/LA opioids, with consideration to providing in-home naloxone
• Determine when referral to a pain specialist is appropriate for a patient with chronic pain