Best Practice Opioid Prescribing

In an effort to prepare clinicians with the necessary tools to impact the nation’s current opioid epidemic, a Massachusetts coalition of nationally recognized experts have partnered to create a core curriculum on safe prescribing of opioids. The coalition included the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Medical Society, Boston University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical  School, Tufts School of Medicine, and the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

ConverSage partnered with the the UMass Medical School to create an immersive adaptation of their Award Winning* classroom course using realistic, interactive cases which a prescriber must manage. The learning objectives of this course are the safe prescribing of opioids and the prevention of prescription drug misuse. The cases include both acute (emergency room) and chronic scenarios and the competencies learned include the areas of screening, evaluation, and treatment planning.

After completing this interactive course, the prescriber should be capable of demonstrating the ability to:

• Prescribe opioids in accordance with medical best practice as well as appropriate state regulations
• Interact with patients in a manner to minimize the chances of prescription drug misuse
• Treat patients at-risk for substance use disorders
• Manage substance use disorders as a chronic disease

*The classroom based standardized patient program at UMass Medical School won the Association of American Medical Colleges Curricular Innovation Award. It was developed to address the Massachusetts state mandate that all prescribers must take an opioid training course.