The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has created an online form for physicians and other health care professionals to report overdoses from controlled substances such as opioids, cocaine, and methamphetamines.

Previously, physicians reported overdoses from these “Penalty Group 1” drugs only via phone call or by faxing a paper form to the Texas Poison Center Network.

The new electronic form replaces phone and fax reporting. It is expected to make reporting and collecting overdose data more efficient, DSHS officials said.

State law requires physicians or the person in charge of a facility in which an overdose occurs or is treated to report the overdose to the DSHS.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday said it would prioritize and expedite the review of generic versions of drugs indicated for the emergency treatment of opioid overdoses.

The decision follows FDA’s approval in April of the first generic of the life-saving naloxone nasal spray, commonly known as Narcan.

Under the “Public Health Emergency” prioritization factor in MAPP 5240.3, FDA says it will expedite the review of all abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) that reference new drug applications (NDAs) for drugs indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. The NDAs include the Narcan injection and nasal spray, Evzio auto-injector and Revex injection.

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LOUISVILLE, KY – July 23, 2019 – Appriss Health, provider of the most comprehensive platform for opioid stewardship and substance use disorder (SUD) in the U.S., today announced that it has partnered with the Texas State Board of Pharmacy (TSBP) to integrate prescription monitoring program (PMP) information into the electronic health record (EHR) systems of all prescribers and pharmacy management systems for all pharmacies in Texas with Appriss Health’s PMP Gateway solution. Additionally, the TSBP will make available the Appriss Health NarxCare susbstance use disorder platform designed to deliver additional clinical content to help identify patients at risk of an opioid overdose.

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The Opioid-Related Emergency Department Visits dashboard was recently updated.

There are 5 tabs:

1. An Overview page that provides a general overview of data by opioid type for 2017 
2. A Data Table Builder page that lets you choose parameters to generate a data table
3. A Maps page with opioid-related emergency department visits and rates by county
4. A Data Source & Other Resources page that contains methodology behind analyzing the data
5. An Archive page that has the previous dashboard for inpatient-emergency department visits

Physicians can encounter a web of confusion and unfairness when it comes to navigating the Texas Medical Board. The Travis County district court has given Texas physicians clarity and hope when it comes to certain medical board investigations.

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The World Health Organization notified U.S. lawmakers Wednesday that it will discontinue two publications on prescribing opioid painkillers in response to allegations that the pharmaceutical industry influenced the reports.

The pledge to remove the guidelines comes a month after U.S. Reps. Katherine Clark and Hal Rogers accused the WHO of being influenced by Purdue Pharma, the American manufacturer of the potent painkiller OxyContin. The lawmakers’ report claimed the guidelines, crafted in part by organizations with financial ties to the company, downplay the risk of opioids despite the American epidemic that has killed more than 390,000 since 1999.

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Chronic Pain Task Force on Opioids and What Happens Now

 

Dr. Vanila Singh

“50 million people have chronic pain—20 million of those have high impact chronic pain—and there is an absolute need as a medical community and larger society to get educated on what the best treatments are.”

That was the task defined by Dr. Vanila Singh, the Chairperson of the Pain Management Inter-Agency Task Force.

Pain Management Task Force Issues Final Report on Best Practices for Treatment of Pain

The Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, a federal advisory committee established by the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 - PDF, today released its final report on acute and chronic pain management best practices, calling for a balanced, individualized, patient-centered approach.

To ensure best practices for the treatment of pain, the Task Force final report underscores the need to address stigma, risk assessment, access to care and education. It also highlights five broad categories for pain treatment: medications, interventional procedures, restorative therapies, behavioral health, and complementary and integrative health approaches.

“There is a no one-size-fits-all approach when treating and managing patients with painful conditions,” said Vanila M. Singh, M.D., MACM, Task Force chair, and chief medical officer of the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health. “Individuals who live with pain are suffering and need compassionate, individualized and effective approaches to improving pain and clinical outcomes. This report is a roadmap that is desperately needed to treat our nation’s pain crisis.”

The Task Force was created in the midst of a national opioid epidemic, but also at a time when an estimated 50 million adults in the United States experience chronic daily pain. As such, the report emphasizes safe opioid stewardship by recommending more time for history-taking, screening tools, lab tests, and clinician time with patients to establish a therapeutic alliance and to set clear goals for improved functionality, quality of life, and activities of daily living.  Medication disposal and safe medication storage are also emphasized for patient safety.

Patient-Centered Care Is Key to Best Practices in Pain Management

Summary: Dr. Vanila Singh explains the work of the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force.

On May 10, the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force voted on its final recommendations, which emphasize the importance of providing balanced, individualized, patient-centered pain management to ensure better clinical outcomes for pain that improve quality of life and functionality for patients. The group recommended a broad framework of approaches for treating acute and chronic pain. Following is an interview with Dr. Vanila Singh on the task force’s work.

Q: Dr. Singh, the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, a federal advisory committee that you chaired, just voted on final recommendations for pain management best practices. What was the Task Force's charge?
A: We were charged by section 101 of the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA) - PDF to propose updates to best practices and issue recommendations that address gaps or inconsistencies for managing chronic and acute pain.

TexMed 2019 - Texas Pain Society - Pain Lectures Success!

Many thanks to Drs. Tim Zoys & C.M. Schade for co-chairing the 2019 Texas Pain Society Program! Thank you to our amazing speakers for their time and energy and expertise to educate attendees about the most current standards for pain management. Each year this program continues to grow and attract more and more attendees, this year was another full room with over 140 attendees! 

Primary Care Pain Medicine: State-of-the-Art 2019 
Presented by Brian Bruel, MD, Director, Pain Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

CDC Advises Against Misapplication of the Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain

Some policies, practices attributed to the Guideline are inconsistent with its recommendations

Mark Your Calendars and Plan to Attend the Texas Pain Society Lectures During TexMed 2019

Date: Friday, May 17, 2019
Location: Hilton Anatole Hotel, Dallas, Texas - West Wing, Coronado A
Time: 7:3oam - 11:30am

Pain Medicine Program Agenda

7:30 AM: Welcome and Introductions

7:30 AM: (ETHICS) Primary Care Pain Medicine: State-of-the-Art 2019 
Presented by Brian Bruel, MD, Director, Pain Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston

8:00 AM: (ETHICS) Texas Medical Board Updates & Top 50 Pitfalls 
Presented by Sherif Zafraan, MD, President, Texas Medical Board, Houston 

On April 27, 2019 at 10:00 AM

The National Prescription Drug Take Back Day addresses a crucial public safety and public health issue. According to the 2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 6 million Americans misused controlled prescription drugs. The study shows that a majority of abused prescription drugs were obtained from family and friends, often from the home medicine cabinet.

Click here for collection site locators, stats on past take back days, PSAs you can use on your website and more.

From AP News

US warns docs not to abruptly halt opioid pain treatment
By MATTHEW PERRONE April 9, 2019

FILE - This Aug. 29, 2018, file photo shows an arrangement of prescription oxycodone pills in New York. U.S. health officials Tuesday, April 9. 2019, warned doctors not to abruptly stop prescribing opioid painkillers to patients who are taking them for chronic pain ailments, such as backaches. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. health officials Tuesday warned doctors not to abruptly stop prescribing opioid painkillers to patients who are taking them for chronic pain ailments, such as backaches.

April 9, 2019

CDC Clarifies Pain Guideline Not Intended to Deny Opioids Access to Cancer Patients/Survivors

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a key clarification on its Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain. The clarification comes as a result of a collaborative effort by ASCO, the American Society of Hematology (ASH), CDC, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) to clarify CDC’s opioid prescribing guideline to ensure appropriate implementation for people with cancer, cancer survivors, and patients with sickle cell disease.