ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

FDA Panel Recommends Mandatory Opioid Training

by Karen Appold • June 5, 2016

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version
David Smart/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

David Smart/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM

According to Committee Chairperson Almut Winterstein, PhD, chair of the Drug Safety and Risk Management Committee and professor and chair of pharmaceutical outcomes and policy at the College of Pharmacy at the University of Florida in Gainesville, “Voluntary training under the current REMS has only been able to reach about 20% of all opioid prescribers. Most committee members felt that the only way to accelerate the process was to make the training mandatory.”

You Might Also Like

  • 5 Truths ENTs Need to Know about the Opioid Crisis
  • How the U.S. FDA Approves Medical Devices
  • FDA Seeks to Prevent Surgical Fires
  • Chronic Opioid Use Common Even after Minor Surgery
Explore This Issue
June 2016

Joanna Katzman, MD, MSPH, director of the University of New Mexico Pain Center and a neurologist with University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center in Albuquerque, was invited to speak to the panel because of her experience with mandatory prescribing regulations. Dr. Katzman said the FDA’s current program doesn’t provide enough education on short-acting opioids or pain management. “These topics are important because, like long-acting opioids, short-acting opioids have risks associated with them,” she said. She added that the FDA’s program hasn’t reduced the number of opioids that have been prescribed or the number of deaths due to drug overdoses.

Dr. Messner believes that otolaryngologists would most benefit from increased knowledge about postoperative pain management strategies. “Historically, otolaryngologists relied almost exclusively on narcotics as the foundation of a pain control plan,” she said. “Now we know that there are alternative medications and pain control strategies that result in better pain control, without the risk of narcotics.”

Some panel members also suggested that clinicians be trained in best practices of pain management, that training be tied to recently released CDC guidelines, and that it involve mental health and suicide screening. “There needs to be education around safe prescribing methods, because, over the past decade, many physicians have become used to writing prescription refills without realizing the consequences of some patients becoming dependent on medications,” Dr. Katzman said. “By giving physicians such as otolaryngologists information regarding alternatives to opioid medications, such as non-opioid medications or other non-pharmacological modalities, such as speech and physical therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) units, and even behavioral interventions, they will have other options for treating patients who are in pain after having surgical procedures.”

Dr. Katzman also said it is incumbent upon healthcare professionals to learn how to screen patients so that they can prescribe a safe number of painkillers. “Most people who die of an unintentional opioid or heroin overdose get medications from a friend or relative,” she said. “These friends and relatives usually receive their medications from one doctor.”

What Training Might Entail

It’s now up to the FDA to decide what the training will entail and when it will become effective. Dr. Katzman said the FDA could implement a mandatory REMS program or consider other options, such as working with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to enforce it or making continuing medical education a requirement to renew a medical license. The FDA could also suggest that individual states impose the mandate through medical licensing boards.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 | Single Page

Filed Under: Features, Home Slider Tagged With: addiction, education, opioids, overdose, physicians, policyIssue: June 2016

You Might Also Like:

  • 5 Truths ENTs Need to Know about the Opioid Crisis
  • How the U.S. FDA Approves Medical Devices
  • FDA Seeks to Prevent Surgical Fires
  • Chronic Opioid Use Common Even after Minor Surgery

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Weaning Patients Off of PPIs
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Podcasts Becoming More Popular Method of Education for Otolaryngologists
    • How to Embrace Optimism in the Midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic
    • Tips on How to Approach Conversations with Patients about the COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Steps You Should Take to Protect Your Voice and Hearing During Telemedicine Sessions
    • Routine Postoperative Adjunct Treatments Unnecessary for Idiopathic Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks

Polls

Have you spoken with your patients about receiving the COVID-19 vaccine?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.