Risk for Opioid Overdose: Identifying At-Risk Patients in Your Practice Hidden in Plain Sight

Risk for Opioid Overdose: Identifying At-Risk Patients in Your Practice Hidden in Plain Sight is organized by CME Outfitters, LLC.

Premiere Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2020
Credit Expiration Date: Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Accreditation:
CME Credit (Physicians):
CME Outfitters, LLC, designates this enduring material for a maximum of .75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

CPE Credit (Pharmacists):
CME Outfitters, LLC, is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. .75 contact hours (0.075 CEUs).

ABIM/MOC Credit:
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to .75 MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. 

Note to PAs:  PAs may claim a maximum of 1 Category 0.75 credits for completing this activity. NCCPA accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society.

This activity offers CE credit for:
• Physicians (CME)
• Pharmacists (ACPE)
• ABIM (MOC)
• Other

Statement of Need
What is the profile of someone at risk for overdose? For many, the perception of overdose risk is tied to someone who is an injection drug user, someone with an opioid use disorder that takes more than they can handle, or someone who unknowingly encounters a drug laced with dangerous levels of fentanyl. Few would dispute that these individuals should have ready access to the opioid reversal agent naloxone. While these are accurate profiles of individuals at risk, is the profile too narrow and biased with misconceptions?

The 2016 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain recommends co-prescribing naloxone for patients at risk for overdose, including patients with a history of overdose or substance use, patients taking benzodiazepines, and patients taking ≥ 50 MMEs of opioids daily. Yet, in a March 24, 2020 CME Outfitters Risk Evaluation and Mitigations Strategies (REMS) webcast, among 477 internists, primary care providers, nurse practitioners, and PAs, 73% co-prescribed naloxone in patients receiving high dose opioids (≥ 50 MME/day) less than 50% of the time. Thirty seven percent never co-prescribed naloxone in this patient population.

The objective of this webcast is to raise awareness about the risk of overdose among patients with chronic pain in everyday practice and actionable changes to practice that are needed to mitigate that risk.

Learning Objectives
At the end of this CE activity, participants should be able to:

• Recognize the distinct patient profiles of individuals at risk of opioid overdose
• Initiate discussions about overdose risk with chronic pain patients prescribed high dose opioids (= 50 MME)
• Co-prescribe and counsel chronic pain patients on high dose opioids (= 50 MME) who are at risk for overdose about appropriate use of naloxone

The following learning objectives pertain only to those requesting CNE or CPE credit:

• Recognize the distinct patient profiles of individuals at risk of opioid overdose
• Explain how to initiate discussions about overdose risk with chronic pain patients prescribed high dose opioids (= 50 MME)
• Identify chronic pain patients on high dose opioids (= 50 MME) who are at risk for overdose that may benefit from a co-prescription for naloxone