Empowering Family Medicine Residencies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse

United States

2014 Meeting Overview

The Empowering Family Medicine Residencies to Address Prescription Opioid Abuse workshop was held on May 3, 2014. This Blending Meeting provided physicians, clinicians, healthcare providers, researchers, policy makers, and others with the opportunity to learn from top experts who play roles in the design of science-based treatment programs and from the practitioners who implement these programs across the country.

The workshop was divided into two parts, a morning and afternoon session. Each session provided participants a different focus: the morning focused on essentials for patient care and the afternoon focused on resident education.

Goals:

The goals of the day-long workshop were to:

• Review important and timely topics in the use of buprenorphine for office-based treatment.
• Provide buprenorphine waiver training for outpatient practice.
• Create a forum to discuss emerging research findings and their implications in clinical practice.
• Provide updates and practical applications for addressing prescription opioid abuse in family medicine settings.

Attendance:

Over 100 individuals registered for this conference, and each participant was provided with a program booklet and a flash-drive containing all presentation materials.

Morning Session

Description:

Utilizing case-based presentations and small group case discussions, the Managing Opioid Dependence with Buprenorphine: Essentials for Patient Care session reviewed office-based buprenorphine treatment fundamentals. Procedures for obtaining prescribing waivers were also reviewed. The session satisfied the face-to-face portion of the waiver certification process, and the remainder of the prescribing certification process was available online.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants were able to:

• Describe the epidemiology of the current opioid abuse epidemic.
• Explain how buprenorphine is an effective medication for the management of opioid dependence in a variety of populations including youth, pregnancy, and patients with co-occurring disorders such as chronic pain.
• Appropriately select patients for buprenorphine induction, detoxification, stabilization, and maintenance, and address issues of safety and diversion.
• Use mentoring resources for office-based buprenorphine practice.

Morning Agenda:

Afternoon Session

Description:

The Managing Opioid Dependence with Buprenorphine: Integration into Resident Education session included brief presentations by practitioners of family medicine, highlighting four model programs for successful integration of buprenorphine prescription in practice. Small group facilitated discussions were held for reviewing strategies for developing buprenorphine education and integrating them in residency programs. Discussion focused on current status of buprenorphine practice and training; overcoming barriers; engaging administration, staff, faculty, and residents; competencies and milestones; using mentoring resources and involving residents.

Objectives:

At the conclusion of the workshop, participants were able to:

• Develop strategies for strengthening buprenorphine education in family medicine residency curricula, including integrating certification courses for residents and faculty into family medicine programs.
• Create their own individual and residency actions plan to develop and promote buprenorphine education in their residency program.
• Develop and integrate buprenorphine curricula as part of a comprehensive approach to sub- stance use disorders education.

Afternoon Agenda: