FDA Offers Pharmacists Opioid Training

FDA Offers Pharmacists Opioid Training

http://www.drugtopics.com/fda/fda-offers-pharmacists-opioid-training

The FDA’s new opioids Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) plan offers training to pharmacists and nurses for the first time, and adds new labeling for all opioids.

The agency’s final Opioid Analgesic REMS includes several measures to help better communicate the serious risks about the use of opioid painkillers to patients and health care professionals, including pharmacists.

Notably, the new REMS subjects immediate-release opioids analgesics—which account for around 90% of prescribed opioids—to a more stringent set of requirements as well as adds new labeling for all opioids, says FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, in a statement.

The new labeling includes information about REMS-compliant education in the Boxed Warning and Warnings and Precautions sections of labeling and strongly encourages providers to complete a REMS-compliant education program. The labeling also emphasizes to patients and their caregivers the importance of reading the Medication Guide every time it is provided by their pharmacists.

In addition, the expanded REMS requires that 347 opioid analgesics intended for outpatient use be subject to REMS, versus the 62 that were previously required.

The new REMS requires that the education for pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals cover broader information about appropriate pain management, including alternatives to opioids for the treatment of pain.

“Many people who become addicted to opioids will have their first exposure in the medical setting. Providers have a critical role to play in making sure these products are appropriately prescribed to patients,” Gottlieb says.

The FDA believes that all healthcare providers involved in the management of patients with pain should be educated about the safe use of opioids, “so that when they write or dispense a prescription for an opioid analgesic, or monitor patients receiving these medications, they can help ensure the proper product is selected for the patient and used with appropriate clinical oversight,” Lyndsay Meyer, an FDA spokesperson, tells Drug Topics.

The FDA’s goal is to reduce unnecessary and/or inappropriate exposure to opioids by making certain that prescribers are properly informed about appropriate prescribing recommendations, that providers understand how to identify abuse by individual patients, and know how to get patients with opioid use disorder into treatment, Meyer says.

“The crisis of opioid addiction is a public health tragedy of enormous proportions. The FDA’s goal is to reduce serious adverse outcomes resulting from inappropriate prescribing, misuse, and abuse of opioid analgesics, while maintaining patient access to pain medications,” she says.

Continuing education training under the modified REMS will be available to health care providers by March 2019.

There is no mandatory federal requirement that prescribers, pharmacists, or other healthcare professionals take the training provided through the REMS and completion of the training is not a precondition to prescribing opioid analgesics to patients, according to Meyer.

“However,” she adds, “the FDA’s Opioid Policy Steering Committee continues to consider whether there are circumstances when the FDA should require some form of mandatory education for healthcare providers and how the agency would pursue such a goal.”

This is a “can of worms”… The new REMS requires that the education for pharmacists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals cover broader information about appropriate pain management

If you notice that prescribers are not included in this statement, is the FDA trying to impose some reasoning on healthcare professionals that dispense and/or administer opiates to pts become the intermediary to “monitor” the prescribing of opiates to pts and perhaps become an “obstacle” between the prescriber and the pt  and the pt getting the opiates that have been prescribed to them ?

Could this be another “CDC guideline” type play by a federal agency since  There is no mandatory federal requirement that prescribers, pharmacists, or other healthcare professionals take the training provided through the REMS and completion of the training is not a precondition to prescribing opioid analgesics to patients, according to Meyer.

Is this something for the DEA to ‘hang their hat on” to go after prescribers and pharmacist that have not completed the course to accuse them of inappropriate “corresponding responsibility” because of their failure to take the course that is not mandatory ?

 

4 Responses

  1. “One” government agency that POLICES (supposed to be
    illicit) drugs primarily, has been able to enforce
    (with cost to the physician to disobey, to not follow the recommendation a “second” dot/gov agencies guideline, a simple recommendation,… forcing the agenda of both agencies without any legal backlash, no “rule of law”, no accountability to the dot/gov agencies “decision” for the “good or betterment of all” with zero contingency of area failure in the recommendation I know a lot of other words for this collusion. Agree, it does sound like round two without any legal difficulties to gain control, force any cost upon others without any legal grounds to be prosecuted. The “hat trick” if necessary to impose an agenda.My opinion too. What do I know.

  2. Another way to torture and KILL completely innocent people who are sick and in pain and just trying to live their lives. Period.

  3. I’ve Seen It All Before. The training sessions will be at Disney World, probably starting on Friday and resuming on Monday. Many steak dinners will be paid for by the taxpayers. The presenters will have a cushy job. Jetting around the country conducting the seminars a big cushy job. All the money will be gone. Nothing to show for it.

  4. AHHHHHHHHHH. Another moronic way to divert resources from the real problem (illegal drugs), as well as inserting yet another block between doctor and patient. Pharmacists & pharmacies are already overriding physicians & refusing to dispense pain medications.

    As far as ““Many people who become addicted to opioids will have their first exposure in the medical setting;” bullshit, bullshit, bullshit! The actual percentage of people getting addicted from pain meds that are prescribed to THEM is quite low (1% for acute pain patients, 4-10% of chronic pain patients). The overwhelming majority of people who abuse prescribed pain meds steal them from the actual patient who has the prescription.

    I’ve never in my life wanted to be a drug dealer, but with the free ride currently given them by the DEA & every other part of the government & law enforcement, it sure sounds like an easy way to make lots of money without worrying about being bothered by pesky legal botherments…all the resources are being pumped into doctors & other medical pros, legit patients, & pharma companies. Drug dealers must have celebratory parties every night.

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