Oregon ranks second in the nation for prescription pain reliever use, prompting the local health care industry to take action at December 10 event.
With Oregon ranked second in the nation for prescription pain reliever use, and with the death rate due to prescription pain medication overdoses increasing by 2.4 times in 2012 according to the most recent data available from the Oregon Health Authority, Oregon is in the midst of a public health emergency.
Driven by the urgency of this crisis, the Central Oregon health care community established the Pain Standards Task Force, a division of the Central Oregon Health Council’s Provider Engagement Panel, in 2015 to address the issue and develop community-wide safer prescribing guidelines for chronic pain management. A collaboration of health care providers, health plans, and public health professionals, the task force will formally adopt these guidelines at an Endorsement Dinner for Safer Opioid Prescribing on Thursday, Dec. 10, highlighted by a presentation from Dr. John Loeser, Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington.
WHAT: Endorsement Dinner for Safer Opioid Prescribing
WHEN: Thursday, Dec. 10, 6-8 p.m., FREE
WHERE: St. Charles Medical Center conference room, 2500 NE Neff Rd., Bend
RSVP: RSVP required at http://pstf-endorsementdinner.eventbrite.com
The task force, which developed and is sharing these safer prescribing standards within Central Oregon, is working with medical providers to adopt the new standards, raise awareness of the risks to patients on high and unsafe doses of pain medications, and to eliminate the practice of simultaneously prescribing pain medications and tranquilizers like Valium, lorazepam, or clonazapam.
“Prescription drug overdoses accounted for three deaths per week in 2012, and four out of 10 prescription drug related deaths were reported to have multiple drugs contributing to their death,” said Kim Swanson, Ph.D., Chair of the Pain Standards Task Force. “Overdose deaths are preventable, and opiates and/or tranquilizers such as Valium are not the answer, which is exactly with the Central Oregon health care community has rallied around the Pain Standards Task Force and the development and adoption of new safer prescribing guidelines.”
The goal of the community wide prescribing guidelines is to reduce the epidemic of prescription drug overdoses in Central Oregon by providing better and more effective chronic and persistent non-cancer pain management. This includes alternative or lower dose medications, acupuncture, physical medicine, osteopathic medicine and other treatments. The health care community—including hospitals, health care providers, dentists, health plans, alternative health providers, public health representatives, and more—is committed to reversing this epidemic by reducing unsafe dosages of prescription pain medications, as well as ending the simultaneous prescription of pain medications and tranquilizers.
For more information on the initiatives of the Pain Standards Task Force, visit www.copainguide.com. For more information or to RSVP for the Dec. 10 Endorsement Dinner for Safer Opioid Prescribing, visit http://pstf-endorsementdinner.eventbrite.com.
LEAD CONTACTS FROM SUPPORTING AGENCIES:
Jeff Absalon, MD, Chief Physician Officer – St. Charles Health System
Robert Andrews, MD, Physiatrist – Desert Orthopedics
Knute Buehler, MD, Orthopedic Surgeon, The Center & Oregon State Representative
Muriel DeLaVergne-Brown, RN, MPH Director – Crook County Health Dept.
Michael Gonsalves, CEO – The Center
David Holloway, MD, CPE, FAAFP, Chief Medical Officer – BMC
Steve Mann, DO, President – Central Oregon Independent Practice Association
John Nunes, MD, Chief Safety Officer – St. Charles Health System
Laura Pennavaria, MD, Chief Medical Officer – La Pine Community Healthy Center
Christine Pierson, MD, Chief Medical Officer – Mosaic Medical
Robert Ross, MD, Medical Director, Community Health Strategy – St. Charles Medical Group
Divya Sharma, MD, MS, Medical Director – Central Oregon IPA & Mosaic Medical
Jane Smilie, MPH, Director, Deschutes County Health Services
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS:
Advantage Dental
Bend Memorial Clinic
Central Oregon Health Council
Central Oregon Independent Practice Association
The Center
Crook County Health Department
Deschutes County Health Services
Desert Orthopedics
High Lakes Medical
La Pine Community Health Center
Mosaic Medical
PacificSource Community Solutions
St. Charles Health System
St. Charles Medical Group
