Mayo Clinic Opioid Conference: Evidence, Clinical Considerations and Best Practice 2023 Online, Scottsdale

The Mayo Clinic Opioid Conference: Evidence, Clinical Considerations and Best Practice 2023 aims to highlight the shift in guidelines and public concern regarding the use of opioids in medical practice. This course provides the most up-to-date information regarding the appropriate indication for opioids in clinical practice. Topics cover the basics of opioid pharmacology and selection, evidence-based guidelines for opioid management, opioid tapering and legal considerations, as well as medical and interventional alternatives to opioids. In addition, the course covers a broad range of issues, including opioid use disorder and difficult patient conversations and guidelines to standardize the practice of opioid prescribing. This course includes lectures by experts in the field of pain medicine and opioid management as well as question and answer sessions.

Target Audience
This topic is important and has become a more visible public health issue. All fields within medicine that provide direct patient care are impacted, including medical, surgical and outpatient settings. All providers who prescribe (MD, DO, NP, PA, CNS) or administer (nurse, pharmacist, etc.) opioids to patients would benefit from attending this course. This course is particularly relevant for primary care providers that maintain and monitor patients on chronic opioid therapy.

Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:

Review opioid practice updates and discuss how to implement a plan to appropriately monitor patients chronically using opioids.
Define methods to taper opioids using a team based approach and the options for proper opioid disposal.
Describe the use of methadone and buprenorphine in the management of chronic pain.
Identify those with opioid use disorder and understand medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
Determine and optimize treatment for patients suffering from pain and comorbid depression/anxiety.
Explain how to apply best practice for non-opioid adjuvants, interventional pain therapies, and alternative pain modalities as part of a comprehensive multimodal pain management plan.
Compare and contrast 2016 CDC opioid prescribing guidelines with updated guidelines in 2022.
Describe the pitfalls and potential repercussions related to CDC guideline application.
Identify the challenges involved in chronic opioid management: balancing patient safety, patient’s quality of life, and provider satisfaction .