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IAPCD provides members with a monthly eNewsletter with information about the association, networking activities, educational resources, and relevant contributions from members. This newsletter is published eight times a year and provides the IAPCD membership with news on the most up-to-date IAPCD news and happenings. The publication dates are as follows:
- January/February
- March/April
- May
- June
- July/August
- September
- October
- November/December
September 2008, Volume 3, Issue 6
Chairman’s Message – Invitation to ICPCD Attendees for Daily Discussion Group - Applied Solutions in Practice
The ICPCD conference is still a month away but the finishing touches are being put on all of the peripheral educational activities.
I would like to invite all who plan to attend the conference to join me at the end of sessions each day to discuss some of the practical challenges we face including:
- The role of opioids in the management of acute and low back pain
- Treating pain in patients with anxiety, depression, and personality disorder comorbidities
- Managing pain in addicted patients
- Other topics of interest to the group
These will be informal discussions where we can have open conversation, share our concerns, collect input and suggestions from our colleagues, and reflect upon the information presented. Those of us who enjoy attending scientific conferences know that one of the best parts of these meetings takes place between the sessions, when speaker’s presentations are still fresh in our minds. Be sure to look at the final agenda for the time and location for the Applied Solutions in Practice.
Two outstanding, hands-on, preconference workshops have also been added to the program. The first is led by Jennifer Bolen Esq., and is intended for any physician prescribing opioids to make sure their forms and records and practices meet legal and regulatory requirements. The second is a practical program led by Andrew Bertagnolli, PhD of Kaiser Permanente that gives multidisciplinary providers working within networks innovative approaches to the efficient and effective management of a large number of patients with pain, including some with dependency issues.
As in years past, we are also fortunate to be able to provide attendees with interesting and timely satellite symposia that are sponsored by industry. This year the topics address risk associated opioid treatment from a range of perspectives including enhancing communication skills, applying specific interventions to manage opioid abuse, and clinical strategies that protect both patient and practices. These programs are always top-notch so be sure to watch for invitations and add them to your onsite agenda.
October ICPCD Adds Two Practical Preconference Workshops
New to ICPCD this year will be two preconference workshops that will be held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel on Wednesday October 29th. The workshops will each be three hours, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They are designed to be practical in focus, interactive in format, and provide small groups of attendees with in-depth information related to the use of tools and materials within the participants’ professional practices. Each workshop will be limited to 50 participants. Registration is required for individual workshops. The fee for each workshop is $95. To review the full agenda for each session, click here. To register, call ICPCD Customer Service at 800-397-9774 or 215-337-6100. Registration is not available online or via fax for these workshops.
Preconference Workshop 1: Regulatory Compliance and Documentation for Controlled Substances to Treat Pain – An Interactive Workshop on Making the Law Work for You and Your Patients
The preconference program will be led by Jennifer Bolen, JD, who owns and operates The Legal Side of Pain®, a medico-legal consulting firm specializing in the development and implementation of risk management programs and practice standards for the use of controlled substances to treat pain and the office-based treatment of opioid addiction.
This workshop is designed to improve the participant’s understanding of and compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements related to the use of controlled substances to treat pain. Participants will be asked to submit examples of basic paperwork they use in daily practice prior to the course. Ms. Bolen will integrate submitted examples into the workshop sessions.
Preconference Workshop 2: Practical Experiences in Developing Chronic Pain and Chemical Dependency Multidisciplinary Care Processes - Lessons Learned within Kaiser Permanente
This preconference will be led by Dr. Andrew Bertagnolli, who has responsibility for centralized pain management strategies for primary care providers across nine states and 9 million patients within Kaiser Permanente (KP). This preconference is designed to transfer lessons learned and strategies to organizing multidisciplinary approaches in pain and addiction care within an organization.
Real-world case examples and practice-based challenges will be the principle instructional approach employed. A video of a patient within the KP system will be used to describe the patient experience and enhance the presentation. The program chair and additional faculty will use didactic presentation to elicit problem identification and solution development from the participants.
ICPCD Satellite Symposia Program
The program organizers have approved three industry-sponsored satellite symposia this year. The 2008 ICPCD was designed to insure that activities do not overlap and attendees can participate in sessions, exhibits, and satellite programming.
Friday, October 31, 2008–Dinner Symposium Minimizing Risk and Improving Outcomes in Chronic Pain: A Focus on the Challenges of Communication and Interviewing Skills in Assessing Pain Patients
Assessment of the patient experiencing pain is the cornerstone of optimal pain management. However, the quality and utility of any assessment tool or process is only as effective as the clinician's ability to thoroughly focus on and effectively communicate with the patient. These are also processes that are required by legal and regulatory authorities when any controlled substance is prescribed. To assist clinicians in enhancing their interviewing and communication skills, this symposium will blend didactic presentations with live interview scenarios. Each of segments will be followed by a question and answer session that encourages frequent audience interaction with faculty. The symposium will conclude with a review of cases as presented and a summary of “best practices” information presented. Supported by an independent educational grant from Cephalon, Inc.
Saturday, November 1, 2008–Breakfast Symposium Opioid Abuse and Dependency in the Chronic Pain Patient: Interventions to Decrease Risk and Improve Outcomes
This event will feature a panel discussion in which experts will address specific questions set forth by a moderator. The moderator and chair will provide a short didactic presentation on the problem of abuse of opioid analgesics by patients with chronic pain and then introduce panel members specifically assembled to address key issues related to this subject and present a short patient vignette underscoring the impact of this problem for attendees. The chairperson will conduct each topic of discussion by posing questions to the audience on which they can vote with an audience response system (ARS).
Each panel member will present his or her view with respect to the question as well as relevant information to support it. The moderator will then allow other panelists to react to this information, further exploring different approaches to effective pain management and decreasing the risk for drug abuse. At specific points in the discussion, the session will be opened up for audience questions. Supported by an educational grant from King Pharmaceuticals.
Saturday, November 1, 2008–Lunch Symposium Opioid Risk Management: Dispelling the Myths and Integrating Clinical Strategies to Protect Your Practice
This didactic program will address the consequences of undertreatment of pain and inadequate pain relief, key issues and terminology surrounding the treatment of pain with opioids, the federal regulations and legal statutes regarding opioid medications, and the integration of risk management tools and strategies into clinical practice. The program will also present approaches to the risk/benefit ratios of current opioid analgesics and it will examine novel agents and delivery systems designed to minimize abuse potential and select the best possible therapy to improve the quality of life for their patients with pain. Supported by an educational grant from PRICARA®, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
IAPCD Director Heit Featured in NYT Methadone Article
The Sunday New York Times on August 20 featured an article, “Methadone Rises as a Painkiller with Big Risks” that quotes Howard Heit, MD. Dr. Heit addresses that for the right patients, methadone can be an effective alternative. The article provides a case example with one of Dr Heit’s patients that illustrates use of physical therapy, a treatment contract, appropriate dosing, monitoring, and urine testing to mitigate the risk described in most of the article.
The complete article and accompanying video can be viewed at here.
Online Educational Course on Opioid Availability
The Pain & Policy Studies Group recently announced a new online course, Increasing Patient Access to Pain Medicines Around the World: A Framework to Improve National Policies that Govern Drug Distribution.
This course is about the relationship between government policies that affect the medical availability of opioid analgesics and patients who experience moderate to severe pain. It is critically important for health care professionals, government drug regulators, and advocates involved in palliative care and pain relief to understand the government policies that control opioid analgesics and how they can block or ensure patient access to opioid analgesics.
It was designed to provide a synthesis of the critical background material and current methods that have been developed to improve national policies governing medical availability of essential pain medicines for cancer and HIV/AIDS patients. The course includes examples of regulatory barriers and progress to improve opioid availability in many countries: China, Colombia, India, Italy, Mexico, Philippines, Romania, Serbia, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia and others. It is intended for an international audience of health care professionals, local and national policy makers, palliative care advocates, government drug regulatory personnel, national health policy advisors, and health policy scholars with an interest in pain management or palliative care.
The course is accessible at no cost and is self-paced so that it can be taken at any time that is convenient for the learner. It includes seven lessons, each with required readings. Upon successful completion of the course the learner will receive a certificate.
Representatives of the Secretariat of the International Narcotics Control Board, the World Health Organization, as well as pain and palliative care experts from around the world were consulted during the process of preparation for the course.
The development of this course was supported by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa.
For more information, and to access the course, please visit: http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/on-line_course/welcome.htm
Corporate Members of IAPCD
- Abbott Laboratories
- Alpharma Inc.
- Ameritox, Ltd.
- Cephalon, Inc.
- Grünenthal USA Inc.
- King Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
- Pain Therapeutics, Inc.
- Purdue Pharma L.P.
- Seabrook House, Inc.
- Neuromed Pharmaceuticals Inc.
- Dominion Diagnostics LLC
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