Managing Risk in the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Utilizing opioid therapy for the management of chronic pain must involve careful patient selection and evaluation of risk versus benefit, including the risks of misuse, abuse, diversion, overdose, and substance use disorders. Chronic opioid therapy should also be accompanied by an ongoing, multifaceted monitoring plan. Through discussion of current literature and case study application, this program outlines the necessary steps to evaluate risk, stratify patients, and create a monitoring plan based on individual risk level. Relevant tools and resources are provided for practical application and creation of risk management plans in clinical practice.

Overview

Title: Managing Risk in the Treatment of Chronic Pain
Date: Thursday, June 16, 2016
Time: 10:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Duration: 1 hour
Objectives: Upon completion of this session participants will be able to:

  • Discuss the current landscape in use of opioids for chronic pain management
  • Identify the steps to a chronic opioid therapy risk management plan
  • Create a risk management plan based on patient case
  • Utilize tools and resources to create risk management plans for patients in practice

Speakers

Maria Guevara, PharmD, CPE

Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Florida; Director of Clinical Strategy and Programs, Millennium Health Millennium Health

Maria G. Guevara, Pharm.D., CPE is currently the Director, Clinical Affairs, Education & Training at Millennium Health. Dr. Guevara received her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from the University of Florida. She then completed a Specialty Pharmacy Residency in Pain and Palliative Care at Lakeland Regional Medical Center in Lakeland, Florida. Dr. Guevara has practiced as a Clinical Specialist in Pain Management as part of a pharmacy-based consult service for inpatient pain management. She has managed various types of acute and chronic pain, including patients with comorbid psychiatric and substance use disorders. Dr. Guevara is passionate about education and previously served as a preceptor for pharmacy students and post-graduate residents. She has served as the residency program director for the Specialty Pharmacy Residency in Pain and Palliative Care at Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Dr. Guevara is a certified pain educator (CPE) and has given numerous lectures on various topics to pharmacists, nurses, nurse practitioners, PAs, physicians, and addiction treatment professionals across the country, including lectures on topics in pain management, pharmacogenetics, synthetic drugs of abuse, and urine drug testing in various settings

Lynn Webster, MD, FACPM, FASAM

Vice President of Scientific Affairs PRA Health Sciences

Past President, American Academy of Pain Medicine (AAPM)

Dr. Lynn Webster has dedicated more than three decades to becoming an expert in the field of pain management. He developed the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT), which is the standard in multiple countries and thousands of clinics worldwide. Dr. Webster lectures extensively on the subject of preventing opioid abuse and criminal diversion in chronic pain patients and has authored more than 300 scientific abstracts, manuscripts, journal articles and a book entitled Avoiding Opioid Abuse While Managing Pain: A Guide for Practitioners.

Dr. Webster received his doctorate of medicine from the University of Nebraska and completed his residency at the University of Utah Medical Center’s Department of Anesthesiology. He is the author of The Painful Truth: What Chronic Pain Is Really Like and Why it Matters to Each of Us (Webster Media LLC) and co-producer of the documentary The Painful Truth, to be released in 2016.

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