June 16, 2017: Advocacy Spotlight On AMA Launches Opioid Education Microsite

AMA launches opioid education microsite

As part of its continued advocacy efforts to help reverse the nation's opioid epidemic, the AMA last week launched a microsite focused on providing physicians with state- and specialty-specific education and training resources. The microsite, www.end-opioid-epidemic.org, includes nearly 300 education and training resources across three major categories:

Recommendations from the AMA Opioid Task Force
State medical society resources
Medical specialty society resources

Physicians can use the site's "State Selector" and "Specialty Selector" to find tailored education and training resources. The AMA Opioid Task Force also has identified numerous national education and training resources. The site highlights the progress physicians have made in using prescription drug monitoring programs, reducing the nation's opioid supply, increasing treatment capacity and increasing access to naloxone.

To further support physicians and patients locating physicians authorized to treat opioid dependency with buprenorphine by state, each state-specific page includes a link to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Buprenorphine Treatment Practitioner Locator.

"Physicians have made progress, but to truly reverse the nation's opioid epidemic, we all have much more work to do," said Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA, chair, AMA Opioid Task Force. "That's why the Task Force urges physicians to increase their efforts and use PDMPs, enhance their education, help prevent overdose deaths by co-prescribing naloxone, and improve access to the best treatment options available."

While the initial launch of the website is focused on encouraging physicians to take action by using education and training resources, the next phase of the website will encourage physicians and patients to share their own stories.

America's medical community continues to focus on ways to support patients who need treatment as well as help increase overdose prevention efforts. The AMA Opioid Task Force also recently issued recommendations focused on safe storage and disposal, encouraging physicians to:

Talk to your patients about proper use of opioid analgesics
Remind your patients to safely store medicines away from children and never share prescriptions
Urge your patients to safely dispose of expired, unwanted, and unused medications, utilizing pharmacy and law enforcement "Take Back" resources