American Pain Society's 27th Annual Scientific Meeting (May 8 – 10, 2008): Prescribing Opioids: Legal Aspects

Chronic pain is a major cause of disability in the United States. In a recent survey by the American Pain Society of patients with non-cancer related pain, only 55% of all patients, and less than 40% of those with severe pain, indicated that their pain was being controlled. The use of opioid medications for the management of chronic pain has elicited a significant degree of controversy due to the potential for abuse and diversion. Health professionals have the responsibility to identify potential abuse while ensuring that patients in need continue to have full access to medications that will provide optimal relief. Dr. Cruciani will be the moderator and will introduce briefly the topic (5 min). It will be followed by three presentations of 20 min each. Dr. Howard Heit and will discuss the challenges that the practitioner encounters when prescribing controlled substances, focusing in boundary setting and universal precautions to prevent abuse and addiction. Dr. Jennifer Bolen will address the interface between opioid prescribing and the law and its implications for practitioners and patients. She will help practitioners to familiarize themselves with legal terms and “speak law”. The third speaker will be Mr. Mark Caverly, Chief of the Liaison and Policy Section, Office of Diversion Control. He will discuss federal regulations regarding prescription pain medications and review national monitoring data. Mr. Caverly has spoken on this topic in many occasions, and has been very successful on giving a message of collaboration between the regulatory agency and practitioners. In the last twenty five Dr. Cruciani will present a challenging case for discussion with participation of the audience, and questions and answers.