Newswise — Harrisburg, Pa.) Across Pennsylvania physicians have raised concerns about growing problems with prescription drug abuse.
Last fall, in response to these concerns, the Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) launched its “Pills for Ills, Not Thrills” campaign designed to raise awareness of problems associated with pill-seeking doctor shoppers—patients that hop from physician to physician looking to score prescription pain medication for illegal use.
To raise the bar in this battle, PAMED has developed a free series of six, one-hour webinars to help educate physicians and other health care providers on appropriate use of long acting and extended release opioids. The webinars will cover prescribing, monitoring, assessment, and documentation.
These educational webinars are the next step in that campaign that also includes a legislative push to build a prescription drug monitoring system to help physicians know if the person in their exam or emergency room is a patient with legitimate pain or a pill-seeking scammer.
All participants who view all six webinars, via either live or archived format, and successfully complete an assessment at the end of the sixth webinar, will receive a certificate of completion.
In addition, PAMED physician members also can claim up to 6 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ at the end of the activity for free as part of their member benefits. Nonmember physicians can also receive CME credits for a fee, while non-physician participants can purchase a letter of completion that can be used with their professional organization for education credits.
A grant from the Collaboration for Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) Education (CO*RE) is funding the webinars.
Interested health care providers may learn more about this educational opportunity by visiting www.pamedsoc.org/opioids. For more information on PAMED’s “Pills for Ills, Not Thrills” campaign, visit www.pamedsoc.org/pillscamnr.
The patient-doctor relationship has been the priority of the Pennsylvania Medical Society since its founding in 1848. To learn more about the Pennsylvania Medical Society, visit the web site at www.pamedsoc.org or follow the organization via Twitter @PAMEDSociety. Members of the media are encouraged to follow Chuck Moran, Director, Media Relations, via Twitter @ChuckMoran7.
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