General Safe Opioid Prescribing

Program Description:

Breakthrough cancer pain (BTCP) is a common occurrence in cancer patients that can be treated by a number of immediate-release (IR) opioids, some of which are specifically labeled for this use (i.e., IR fentanyl). However, the predominant use of breakthrough pain products, particularly the IR fentanyls, is off-label for noncancer pain-related diagnoses. Based on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, medications are commonly being misused and abused by patients and acquaintances of patients. Education is needed around the safe use of opioid analgesics and, more specifically, the IR fentanyl medications for BTCP. This educational program is specifically designed to support this objective.

INTENDED AUDIENCE:

The educational design of this activity addresses the needs of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied health professionals involved in the treatment of patients with BTCP.

Activity Objectives:

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

• Identify risk factors for opioid overdose including co-ingestion of other CNS depressants (e.g. benzodiazepines), alcohol, a history of substance abuse, and a history of mental health disorders.


• Describe the scope of the risk of opioid abuse.


• Explain proper procedures for opioid conversion.





Credits	Type	Accreditation Statement	Designation Statement
1.00	AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM	Global Education Group is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.	Global Education Group designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
1.00	CE for Nurses	Global Education Group is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s COA.	This educational activity for 1.00 contact hour is provided by Global Education Group. Nurses should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
1.00	CE for Pharmacists	Global Education Group (Global) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education.	Global Education Group designates this continuing education activity for 1.0 contact hour (0.1 CEUs) of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. (Universal Activity Number - 0530-0000-11-014-H04-P). This is a knowledge-based activity.

Faculty:

Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, BCPS, CPE

Thomas B. Strouse, MD


Disclosures:

Accreditor Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest Policy
Global Education Group (Global) requires instructors, planners, managers, and other individuals and their spouse/life partner who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified conflicts of interest are thoroughly vetted by Global for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies mentioned in the materials or used as the basis for content, and appropriateness of patient care recommendations.

The faculty reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Mary Lynn McPherson, PharmD, BCPS, CPE, has no real or apparent conflicts of interest to report.

Thomas B. Strouse, MD, receives honoraria for participating in speaker bureau programs for Lilly USA, LLC, and Meda Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Global Education Group Disclosures
Jackie Dawson, MSN, has nothing to disclose; Amanda Glazar, PhD, has nothing to disclose; Brian Bass has nothing to disclose.

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use
This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. Global Education Group (Global) does not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications.

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of any organization associated with this activity. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer
Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of patient conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.

This activity is supported by an educational grant from Archimedes Pharma US.

This program is sponsored by Global Education Group.



For information about the accreditation of this program, please contact Global at 303-395-1782 or inquire@globaleducationgroup.com.


Instructions:

In order to receive credit, participants must read the entire activity. Participants must also score at least 80% on the assessment test.

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SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

WINDOWS PC SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
266-MHz Pentium II; Windows 98 or higher; 64 MB RAM; 800 x 600 screen resolution set for “High Color (16-Bit)”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.

MACINTOSH^® SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:
Power Mac g3 at 300 MHz; System 8.5 or higher (excluding Mac OSX); 96 MB RAM; 20 MB minimum hard disk space available; 800 x 600 screen resolution set to “Thousands of Colors”; Macromedia Flash Player 6 or higher.