A Chronic Pain Management Update for Pharmacists

Pharmacy Times Office of Continuing Professional Education

Issues and Solutions in Chronic Pain Management: An Update for the Community Pharmacist

Ebtesam Ahmed, PharmDAssistant Clinical Professor, College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions, St. John's University, Queens, New YorkClinical Pharmacist Specialist, Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, New York

Chronic pain remains one of the most challenging and prevalent health care problems. Approximately 56 million Americans—1 in 6 individuals—live with chronic pain, which is more than the combined amount of individuals with heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. This activity will look at the barriers that exist in pain management, the different classifications of chronic pain, the impact of inadequate relief, the most commonly prescribed opioid analgesics, and the role that abuse deterrent formulations can play in reducing the public health burden of prescription opioid abuse.

Educational Objectives

Upon completing the program, participants should be able to:

• Describe the clinical, humanistic, and economic burden associated with the management of patients with chronic pain.
• Examine challenges, such as appropriate pain management and the potential for abuse and misuse, confronted by patients and practitioners when managing chronic pain.
• Identify legislative mandates and practice pattern recommendations that have been developed in an effort to curtail the abuse and misuse potential of opioid analgesics.
• Describe current strategies that have been developed to prevent opioid abuse and misuse, including methods for identifying patients at risk and alterations in product formulations.

Credits: 2.0

Expiration date: September 10, 2013

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