Description
On average in our country, one person dies every 7 minutes from a drug overdose. Thus, over the course of the 21.5 hours of continuing education available in the “Pain Management Specialty Pharmacist”
(PMSP) Certificate Training, more than 184 people will die of a drug overdose. And to think, those statistics come from before the COVID Pandemic, which has flooded our country with report after report of increased drug overdose deaths. That being said, those statistics account for all drugs, not solely opioids, and certainly not only prescription opioids. In fact, current drug overdose death trends are significantly concentrated within the illicit substance realm. However, as healthcare professionals,
(especially as pharmacists, the stereotyped “drug experts”), we absolutely need to realize that we have an indirect hand in the overall drug supply chain. Thus, our discussion in this presentation will highlight many avenues for change that can make a difference in many lives. If there is change in even one patient’s life, this program will be a success.
Every single day in our country, and across the globe, headline after headline covers the “Opioid Crisis,” “Opioid Epidemic,” or, perhaps better stated, the “Opioid Pandemic.” However, do we as healthcare professionals have a firm understanding of the multitude of dynamic intrigues of providing high quality pain management patient care? One may ask, “Just how did we get this far in the Opioid Crisis?” or “Just what pain management treatment options do my patients have besides opioid medications?” Even, “How do I help my patients that I have simply inherited from other pharmacies?”
We, as pharmacists, are the keystone to combating the opioid crisis, while also compassionately and clinically taking care of our numerous patients in pain. Many pharmacists faced with patient satisfaction scores, countless prescriptions and medication orders to verify, and just not enough hours in a given day have cried out for more education and training in pain management, which is one of the pillars of healthcare across the globe today. Our patients simply deserve more, and our careers can grow exponentially with additional training, thus I look forward to our discussion of “Pain Management in the Opioid Crisis.”