Part 3: Opioid Risk Evaluation, Mitigation, and Management

Target Audience
This activity is designed specifically for primary care clinicians, registered nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, pharmacists, and other members of the healthcare team.

Program Overview
The opioid epidemic is a national health crisis that results in tens of thousands of opioid-related overdose deaths annually. It is critical that the millions of patients with pain receive appropriate care while mitigating the risks of opioid misuse, abuse, and diversion. This CME/CE activity, which is Part 3 of a three-part series titled Tackling the Opioid Crisis: Strategies to Improve Best Practices and Patient Outcomes, will review fundamental elements of addiction and evidence-based strategies for recognizing and treating opioid use disorder. Best practices for counseling patients and caregivers about safe opioid use, storage, and disposal will also be discussed.

This activity meets most states’ requirements for opioid education and is fully compliant with the Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) education requirement issued by the FDA in September 2018.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be better able to:

Identify risk factors and behaviors associated with opioid use disorder and connect patients with appropriate support or treatment
Educate patients on the proper use, storage, and disposal of opioids