Advocacy Update

May 3, 2018: State Advocacy Update

| 2 Min Read

AMA testifies on opioids, artificial intelligence at FSMB annual meeting

The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) last week adopted new policies that evaluate current state opioid prescribing policies as well as discuss artificial intelligence and its impact on patient safety, decision making, and regulation.

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The FSMB will also prepare a report that reviews acute opioid prescribing patterns, practice, federal laws and guidance, state rules and laws, and available data. The AMA testified in support of both actions. The FSMB also adopted reports on PDMPs, stem cell therapy, and physician wellness and burnout that provide guidance for state medical boards in addressing these areas of medical practice.

Update will change buprenorphine MME display in most state PDMPs

The AMA and American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) worked with Appriss Health, the developer of more than 40 state PDMP platforms, to ensure that buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid-use disorder has been removed from all displayed morphine milligram equivalent (MME) calculations throughout its system.

Appriss Health reported that it deployed a full system update on April 11, 2018, that clearly separates buprenorphine from opioids that are used for the treatment of chronic pain. The company also strengthened guidance to exclude medications used for medication-assisted treatment from Centers for for Disease Control and Prevent-recommended MME limits (i.e. 90 MME per day).

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