Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS)

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.

Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) incorporates the updated FDA blueprint into practical education designed to help clinicians improve the quality of care and reduce the pain of their patients.

• Need for Comprehensive Pain Education
• Definitions and Mechanisms of Pain
• Assessing Patients in Pain
• General Principles of Nonpharmacologic Approaches
• General Principles of Pharmacologic Analgesic Therapy
• Neurobiology of Addiction
• Take-home Points

This activity is intended for the multidisciplinary healthcare team, (PCPs, nurses, behavioral health providers, psychiatrists, and pharmacists) who need to obtain a balance between optimal pain reduction and minimization of adverse events (e.g. abuse, addiction, side effects, and risk of workplace accidents).

At the conclusion of this activity, participants should be able 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

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of USF Health and Rockpointe. USF Health is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

 

 

PHARMACIST ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
The Potomac Center for Medical Education is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.

 

CME CREDIT DESIGNATION
USF Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 3.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

For information about the accreditation of this program, please email: cpdsupport@health.usf.edu.

ABIM MOC DESIGNATION STATEMENT
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 3.0 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

To receive CME credit and/or MOC points, you MUST pass the post-test and complete the evaluation. For ABIM MOC points, your information will be shared with the ABIM through USF Health’s ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Please allow 6-8 weeks for your MOC points to appear on your ABIM records.

MIPS CREDIT DESIGNATION
Completion of this accredited CME activity meets the expectations of an Accredited Safety or Quality Improvement Program (IA_PSPA_28) for the Merit-based Incentive Payment Program (MIPS).

 

AAFP DESIGNATION STATEMENT
This Live activity, Opioid Analgesics: Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), from 04/28/2019 – 04/28/2020, has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 3.00 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

 

 

PHARMACIST CREDIT DESIGNATION
The Potomac Center for Medical Education designates this educational activity for a maximum of 3.0 hours (0.30 CEUs) of continuing education credit (UAN number 0418-9999-19-001-L05-P).

This is a knowledge-based activity.

There is no fee for this activity. To receive credit, participants must register, view the live activity in its entirety, and then complete the post-test, with a score of 75% or better, and evaluation. The estimated time for completion of this activity is 3 hours. To receive a certificate, participants must demonstrate mastery of the presented material via the post-test. Participants are allowed to take the post-test multiple times. If you will be watching the webinar in a group setting, please note all group participants will need to register individually in order to complete the post-test and evaluation to receive credit.

Jointly provided by USF Health, Potomac Center for Medical Education, and Rockpointe

In collaboration with:

This activity is supported by an independent educational grant from the Opioid Analgesic REMS Program Companies. Please see https://ce.opioidanalgesicrems.com/RpcCEUI/rems/pdf/resources/List_of_RPC_Companies.pdf for a listing of REMS Program Companies. This activity is intended to be fully compliant with the Opioid Analgesic REMS education requirements issued by the US Food and Drug Administration.