PAINWeek is the preferred resource for frontline practitioners treating acute and chronic pain. For over a decade, we have demonstrated that “education is the best analgesic’’ by presenting over 12,000 hours of content across our national and regional conferences, conducting hundreds of Expert Opinion interviews, and publishing an array of faculty authored articles in our quarterly journal.
Be it live, digital, or print, PAINWeek provides education and insight 365 days/year!
Improving Safety of Chronic Opioid Prescribing by Incorporating Clinical Pharmacists on Teams
The management of chronic noncancer pain with opioid medications is controversial. The negative consequences have been described as a public health emergency and the efficacy of chronic opioid therapy remains a subject of significant debate.
Despite recommendations that chronic opioid therapy not be utilized until other methods fail, there remains a large population of patients for whom no other therapy has been effective and a large cohort of people who have been treated for years with opioids.
Many new patients are still started and maintained on chronic opioid therapy. This course describes one system’s use of clinical pharmacists incorporated into the pain management team to reduce risks. Participants will learn how the pharmacists are utilized in this team-based model.
Topics covered will include the nuts and bolts about how to incorporate pharmacists into clinical management, outcomes of the model of care, DEA certification for pharmacists, billing for services, and lessons learned.
12 Jul 2021
Buprenorphine: A Molecule for All Seasons
Buprenorphine was developed by UK based Reckitt & Colman Products and released in the United Kingdom in 1978. That same year, a clinical study determined that buprenorphine could be helpful in reducing cravings of pure opioids in patients with an opioid abuse disorder.
Then, a separate study published in 1982 demonstrated that buprenorphine offered excellent analgesia with a blunted abuse liability. Buprenorphine is a partial agonist at the mu-opioid receptors and an antagonist at the kappa receptors. Mu-opioid receptor activity produces the analgesic effects of buprenorphine, while a strong affinity for the kappa receptors render them inactive. While initially buprenorphine was used as an anesthetic, currently it has been prescribed for the induction and maintenance in patients with an opioid use disorder.
However, buprenorphine is a unique molecule with multiple applications. This presentation will provide an in-depth discussion of the history of buprenorphine and its application for pain control, opioid use disorders, and antisuicide properties in patients with chronic pain
2 Jul 2021
That’s Debatable! Does Cannabis Reduce Opioid Death, and Does Gabapentin Increase It?
The use of opioids to treat chronic pain has become quite contentious in recent years. Things get even more confusing when we consider adding an adjuvant analgesic in the mix.
Does this reduce or heighten risk? The audience can decide where to throw spitballs when 2 practitioners debate 2 separate topics. First, is the use of cannabis plus an opioid likely to provide an enhanced clinical effect (eg, allow for opioid dose reduction and by extension, harm), make no difference, or possibly cause more harm. The second debate will evaluate the use of gabapentin plus an opioid.
On one hand, we have data showing the gabapentinoids may be habituating and result in addiction. Combining gabapentin with an opioid may also increase the risk of mortality. On the other hand, rational polypharmacy, using an opioid and gabapentin, has been shown to result in superior clinical outcomes compared to either analgesic alone. So perplexing. What’s a practitioner to do? Listen to the debate and decide for yourself!
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
32 ratings
Contact PAINWeek Podcasts
Guest appearances
Does not typically book guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of PAINWeek Podcasts?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
