Surgeon General issues landmark report on alcohol, drugs and health The U.S. Surgeon General issued a report last week calling drug and alcohol addiction a public health crisis that is underappreciated and undertreated. Nearly 21 million Americans – more than the number of people who have all cancers combined – suffer from substance use disorders. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., said he hopes that his report on drug and alcohol will galvanize work on the issue much like the groundswell of action that followed the Surgeon General's landmark report on smoking some 50 years ago. “Alcohol and drug addiction take ... November 28, 2016 General Addiction, Opioids, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
No cost online buprenorphine waiver courses available Physicians must obtain a federal waiver if they wish to prescribe buprenorphine for treatment of opioid use disorder. Across the country, many people suffering from opioid use disorder are unable to access medication-assisted treatment for their condition due to a lack of nearby physicians with waivers to prescribe buprenorphine. California is no different. In 2013, there were only 1,460 waivered physicians actively prescribing buprenorphine in California, which amounts to approximately 3.9 physicians per 100,000 people, particularly impacting rural and underserved areas in the state. To help physicians obtain waivers, the American ... September 22, 2016 General Opioids, Drug Abuse, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Prescription drug safety during Pain Awareness Month The California Medical Association (CMA) is raising awareness on the issue of pain and its proper management this September in recognition of National Pain Awareness Month. Chronic pain — i.e. pain that persists for a protracted period of time — impacts approximately 100 million adults in America and costs the country up to $635 billion annually in lost productivity and treatment, according to a 2011 Institute of Medicine report. CMA has developed and compiled resources to help further inform physicians and educate the public on the impacts of pain, as ... September 13, 2016 General Drub Prescribing, Opioids, Pain Medicine, Public Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Surgeon General enlists nation's physicians to help end opioid abuse The U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek Murthy, M.D., has asked the nation’s physicians to pledge their commitment to solving a health crisis facing America—opioid misuse, abuse and overdose. “We will educate ourselves to treat pain safely and effectively,” Dr. Murthy said in a letter to physicians. “We will screen our patients for opioid use disorder and provide or connect them with evidence based treatment…We can shape how the rest of the country sees addiction by talking about and treating it as a chronic illness, not a moral failing.” In the letter, Dr. ... September 12, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Public Health, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
FDA warns of risks from mixing opioids with anti-anxiety drugs The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced last week it will require tough new warning labels that spell out the increased risks of combining anti-anxiety (benzodiazepines) with prescription opioids. Nearly 400 opioid products will now be required to carry "boxed warnings" – the FDA’s strongest warning – that highlight the risks from combined use, which include extreme sleepiness, respiratory depression, coma and death. The new warning labels are one of a number of steps the FDA is taking as part of the agency’s Opioids Action Plan, which focuses on policies aimed ... September 12, 2016 General Food and Drug Administration, Opioids, Drug Prescribing, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Chronic pain and opioid treatment guidelines for injured workers now in effect The California State Division of Workers’ Compensation’s (DWC) new guidelines on the treatment of chronic pain and opioid prescribing for injured workers are now in effect. The guidelines include best practices and universal precautions for safe and effective prescribing of opioids for pain due to a work-related injury. According to DWC, the new guidelines encourage safer prescribing of opioid pain relievers with the primary goal of significantly reducing the rate of opioid-related adverse events and substance misuse and abuse. Since 2014, the California Medical Association (CMA) has provided input to the ... August 25, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, Pain Medicine, Workers' Compensation, Division of Workers' Compensation 0 0 Comment Read More »
Opioid bill passes in Congress, but remains unfunded Congress broke a months-long stalemate this past week with the Senate’s passage of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA), which authorizes the federal government to award state grants for opioid-related initiatives around education, prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. However, the efforts will not be fully realized until there are resources applied to fund the bill. The legislation authorizes, but doesn't appropriate funding, for programs to combat opioid misuse, in addition to increasing the availability of naloxone, a drug to treat overdoses. The medical community and the American Medical Association (AMA) ... July 18, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Federal Legislation, Opioids, Prescription Drugs, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
Opioids: CMA publishes safe prescribing resources for physicians The California Medical Association (CMA) has published a members-only resource page to provide physicians with the most current information and resources on prescribing controlled substances safely and effectively to relieve pain, while simultaneously reducing the risk of prescription medication misuse, addiction and overdose. The page includes both of CMA’s white papers on prescribing opioids, links to CMA’s health law library resources on the topic, the Medical Board of California’s "Guidelines on Prescribing Controlled Substances for Pain," a listing of continuing medical education courses and webinars on pain management and safe ... June 8, 2016 General Drug Prescribing, Opioids, CURES, Drug Abuse, PDMP, Prescription Drugs 0 0 Comment Read More »
Senate passes opioid addiction treatment measure Last month, the U.S. Senate voted 94-1 to fund opioid education and prevention initiatives, improve treatment programs and expand the availability of the overdose prevention drug naloxone. The bill, known as the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA; S 524), would increase opioid abuse and prevention education efforts to the public, veterans, and incarcerated individuals; expand the availability of naloxone; identify and treat incarcerated individuals (as well as develop alternatives to incarceration); expand drug take-back efforts and disposal sites for unwanted medications; and create prescription opioid and heroin treatment intervention ... April 4, 2016 General Federal Legislation, Medical Solutions to Drug Abuse, Opioids, Drug Abuse 0 0 Comment Read More »
CMA urges CDC to revise its proposed guidelines on prescribing opioids for chronic pain The California Medical Association (CMA) has submitted written comments on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) draft guidelines that provide clinical practice recommendations on the prescribing of opioids for treatment of chronic pain. CMA previously submitted comments on the CDC guidelines that raised concerns regarding the lack of transparency and public input involved in developing the guidelines. While the CDC guidelines claim to be advisory recommendations for use by primary care providers who are treating patients with chronic pain in outpatient settings, CMA is concerned that the CDC ... January 25, 2016 General Opioids, Pain Medicine, Prescription Drugs, Regulatory Advocacy, Drug Prescribing 0 0 Comment Read More »
