The Virtual Lecture Hall Physician CME Website


Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain


Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
CME Certificate Fee: $25.00 per credit (hour)
AMA/PRA Cat. 1 Credit
1.00 credit(s) / hour(s)

Estimated time to complete this activity:
1.00 hours.

Meets Special CME Requirements in: California, Massachusetts, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia     Learn More >>
This course will help you:

Diagnose and manage chronic low back pain
Utilize appropriate long-term opioid treatment
Safeguard your practice from drug abuse and diversion

Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
AMA/PRA Cat. 1 Credit: 1.00 credit(s) / hour(s)
Current Approval Period: December 15, 2009 - December 14, 2011
VLH Release Date: December 15, 2009
Most Recent Edit by Author: December 15, 2009
Financial Support Received: None

Accreditation

Sponsorship Statement

Sponsored by The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center

ACCME/AMA PRA Accreditation Statement

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and Policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center and Medical Directions, Inc. The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.


This course was initially released on 12-15-09. The term of approval for this course is two years from the date of last review, 12-15-09.

The comments and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors of this program and are in no way to be considered comments or opinions of The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center.

Approval for Category 1 credit by The University of Arizona College of Medicine at the Arizona Health Sciences Center should not be construed as endorsement of any product.

Any author disclosures regarding commercial relationships are listed in the author's biography.

Faculty/Staff

Activity Director Robert Amend, M.Ed.
Director of Education Programs
Medical Directions, Inc.
Mr. Amend states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.
COM Planning Member John M. Harris, Jr., M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
Department of Medicine
University of Arizona College of Medicine Dr. Harris states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.
OCME Planning Member Kay O'Neill
Program Coordinator Sr.
Ms. O'Neill states that she does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.
CME Committee Members Gail Barker PhD, MBA
Dr. Barker states that she does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Steven J. Barker MD, PhD
Dr. Barker states that he receives grant/research support from Masimo.

Sammy Campbell, MD
Dr. Campbell states that he receives grant research funding from Novartis, is a consultant for Schering-Plough, and is on the speakers' bureau for Boehringer-Ingelheim, Pfizer, Schering-Plough, and Sepracor.

Rifat Latifi, MD, FACS
Dr. Latifi states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Myra L. Muramoto, MD, MPH
Dr. Muramoto states that she receives grant/research support from Pfizer Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Aventis.

Tom Reichenbacher, MD
Dr. Reichenbacher states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Todd Vanderah, PhD
Dr. Vanderah states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Amy Waer, MD
Dr. Waer states that she does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Frank Walter, MD, FACEP, FACMT, FAACT
Dr. Walter states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
About the Author

Thomas Elliott, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Medicine
University of Minnesota, Duluth, School of Medicine

Dr. Elliott is the Medical Director of the Pain Management Center and Chief of Education and Research at St. Mary's/Duluth Clinic Health System in Duluth, Minnesota. He is also Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota, Duluth School of Medicine.

Dr. Elliott is certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology/Medical Oncology, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine by the American Board of Internal Medicine. He is nationally known for his work in pain management education and his research in pain treatment, including his work as CEO of the Minnesota Cancer Pain Initiative. He has written extensively on the need for improved medical education in pain management.

Disclosure: Dr. Elliott states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

About the Editor

John Harris Jr., M.D., M.B.A.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
University of Arizona, College of Medicine

Dr. Harris is Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at the College of Medicine of the University of Arizona. He is the President of Medical Directions, Inc. Dr. Harris has served as the Principal Investigator on multiple NIH-funded studies of online CME. He is the Senior Editor of The Virtual Lecture Hall's online CME programs and the author of a number of professional papers dealing with online CME.

Disclosure: Dr. Harris states that he does not have any financial arrangements that could constitute a conflict of interest.

Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
Ratings (228 responses)
How would you rate this program overall?
Average Rating: 4.30/5.00
How well were the learning objectives of this program met?
Average Rating: 4.39/5.00
How relevant was the information in this program to your clinical practice?
Average Rating: 3.96/5.00
Likelihood you will make a change in practice behavior based on your participation in this activity.
Average Rating: 3.00/5.00
User Comments
by john paty | Aug 11, 2010
Very effective program for learning.
by Hidden | Jul 30, 2010
Better than I expected it would be. The interactive part was good.
by William Maxfield | May 30, 2010
Overall an excellent program. I like the questions at the end of each section. My comment is that bone density study (DEXA Bone scan) was not mentioned. My experience is that osteopenia and osteoporosis are frequent causes of back pain. Also question that says bone scan should make it clear referrence is to a nuclear study. Final comment is that there should be referrence to laser and or other electrical stimulation techniques like the Biomodulater as they work well for pain,
by Elwyn Garaza | May 24, 2010
Provide possibility for enlarging images.
by Hidden | May 6, 2010
Course geared more towards internest. I am an anesthesiologist. would have liked more drug conversion/sdjustment info
by Bradley Jones | Mar 7, 2010
very practical
Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
This course meets general AMA Category 1 CME requirements in states that have a CME requirement.

Based on information from state licensing authorities, this program meets special CME requirements in these states:

California Pain Management
Massachusetts Risk Management
Oregon Pain Management / Terminally Ill / End-of-life
Pennsylvania Risk Management / Patient Safety
Rhode Island Pain Management / End-of-life Care
Tennessee Prescribing Practices
This course meets the 1-credit requirement for a course designed specifically to address prescribing practices.
Texas Ethics / Professional Responsibility
West Virginia Pain Management

View other courses meeting Special State Requirements
Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
Technical Requirements

This activity is offered online and requires a connection to the Internet. The activity works on a PC or Macintosh computer with the browsers Internet Explorer 7.0 and up, Firefox 2.0, AOL 9.x and up, and Safari 2.x and up. JavaScript should be enabled in all browsers, and Popups and first party cookies need to be accepted from www.VLH.com. You should also have the latest, free Adobe Reader installed for reading documents. (AOL dial-up modem users may experience lengthy delays downloading PDF files.)

For additional information, read the Technical Assistance FAQ.

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