New Online Medical Education Courses to Help Combat Opioid Crisis in US
Prescription drug abuse has been a global crisis, particularly in the United States where it has reached the level of an epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 28,000 people in the U.S. succumbed to opioid overdose in 2014. Over 2 million people abused or were dependent on these addictive drugs in the U.S. In the same year, at least half of all opioid-related deaths involved a prescription opioid painkiller, the CDC said.
However, federal agencies and other non-governmental organizations have been making all-around efforts to thwart its spread. Keeping in line with such efforts to address and curb opioid crisis, new online courses have been introduced to disseminate information regarding opioids. According to the District of Columbia Center for Rational Prescribing (DCRx), two new online courses have been introduced with an aim to educate doctors and other health care professionals about the myths and facts surrounding opioid abuse.
The online education focuses on help in blocking out unnecessary prescription of opioids to curb deaths caused by their overdose and misuse. The video-based education programs would contain advice on how to wean patients off these addictive drugs.
Educating health professionals about alternative therapies
The effort is a collaboration between the DC Department of Health and the Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) at the George Washington University. PharmedOut, a Georgetown University Medical Center project, will offer impartial scientific information about prescription drugs and will educate doctors, pharmacists, nurses and other health professionals about alternative therapies as well.
It is believed that the two new educational courses will serve the purpose of helping physicians and other prescribers of painkillers understand both benefits as well as substantial risks.
“Opioid dependence and addiction, as well as opioid-related deaths, are a serious public health issue in the United States,” said Susan Wood, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Health Policy and Management at the Milken Institute SPH.
This is a commendable effort by the District of Columbia which would go a long way in somewhat putting the brakes on opioid abuse and overdose. “The District of Columbia is taking action to address the opioid epidemic, and better education of health professionals is a key component of DC’s response,” said Wood.
The new modules — “Myths, and Facts about Opioids” and “Getting Patients Off Opioids” — also expose the subtle and dubious tactics the pharmaceutical companies resort to while marketing these drugs. The videos reveal that these marketing gimmicks have largely contributed to the current opioid epidemic. The recent CDC guidelines for prescribing these drugs safely are also elaborately described in these two courses.
“Opioids are not the best treatment for chronic pain, yet they have been often inappropriately prescribed in recent decades,” said Adriane Fugh-Berman M.D., Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at Georgetown University Medical Center.
“DC is the only jurisdiction,” added Adriane, “to offer industry-free, evidence-based continuing medical education (CME) and continuing pharmacy education (CPE) free to its health professionals.”
Tackling drug addiction
Addiction is a scourge, be it to a prescription opioid or any other illicit drug. Drug overdose has killed millions of people the world over and it has claimed more lives than many killer diseases.
But addiction is treatable and one can regain life by seeking help from a reputed rehab. But there should be no delay in seeking treatment or things can worsen. If you or a loved one is addicted to any drug and is looking for help, contact the Texas Drug Addiction Treatment for a quick response. Call at our 24/7 helpline number 855–980–5757 to know about the best drug addiction treatment centers in Texas.
