Free DEA CME

Pri-Med’s P.A.C.T. Update: Practical Approaches to Comprehensive Treatment of Pain 2024-25 curriculum focuses on improving practitioners’ ability to recognize, diagnose, and classify pain; educating clinicians on the full spectrum of pain management options, including non-opioid pharmacologic interventions; and providing risk reduction strategies through integration of opioids into individualized pain management plans. Clinicians will learn to recognize signs and symptoms of opioid dependence and abuse in order to optimally manage patients’ pain and medication use.

Learning Objectives

• Discuss the definitions and mechanisms of pain
• Identify risk factors and stratification for opioid-related aberrant behavior and opioid use disorder as part of the initial assessment
• Apply individualized recommendations for nonpharmacologic and non-opioid treatment options for patients in pain
• Review general characteristics of opioid analgesics including their intended use and risks
• Differentiate among tolerance, physical dependence, and manifestations of opioid use disorder
• Recognize best practices to reduce the risks associated with prescription of opioid analgesics, including safe storage and disposal
• Anticipate and manage adverse effects of opioid use including signs of opioid overdose and the use of naloxone
• Select approaches to safely initiate opioids for the treatment of acute pain and chronic pain
• Identify strategies for ongoing safe and effective use of opioids in patients with chronic pain, including titration, referral, and discontinuation, when appropriate
• Summarize counseling strategies for caregivers and patients on opioid therapy
• Act appropriately to evaluate, treat, or refer patients with opioid use disorder