In Case You Missed It: You Can Help Prevent Opioid Misuse

Tuesday, August 13, 2024

Opioid Misuse Prevention Day is August 31. Take a moment to review opioid safety education opportunities. 

Continuing education opportunities in prescribing opioids.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has several opioid misuse-related training opportunities available for health care providers. Many of these trainings offer continuing education units and cover topics such as the CDC’s 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, Managing Pain and Treating Opioid Use Disorder in the ED, Opioid Use and Pregnancy, Tapering, and more. Learn more about opioid safety at www.tricare.mil/opioidsafety. Find opioid misuse-related continuing education opportunities with the CDC.

Are you a primary care provider? Let your patients know you can help with addiction.

According to a June 2024 National Institute on Drug Abuse article, 61% of U.S. patients do not know that their primary care providers can prescribe medicine to help with opioid use disorder. You can make a difference by watching for signs of misuse in patients you have prescribed opioids and discussing opioid use disorder with them. TRICARE covers office-based opioid treatments and medication assisted treatment. Visit our Opioid Treatment Programs page for benefit details.

Help prevent opioid overdoses.

In its 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain, the CDC indicated that prescribing an opioid antagonist along with opioids may reduce the risk of opioid-related emergency room visits and opioid-involved overdose deaths. The CDC recommends health care professionals consider prescribing opioid antagonists along with opioid prescriptions and for providers to discuss this option with patients. HNFS offers links to the CDC’s guide and other resources on best practices for prescribing controlled substances on our Opioid Treatment Programs page. Find information on TRICARE’s Prescription Monitoring Program on our Pharmacy page. Get free continuing education training about naloxone.