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Number 1, you’re doing a urine test for the patient, not to the patient. It’s to increase communication, not decrease communication. You have to know what question you’re trying to answer with a urine drug test.The test is an important tool but it’s just a tool and you have to know its strength and...
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Urine testing is very good at doing some things but I think we have to be careful that we don’t extend the science of urine drug testing beyond what it’s good for. Really what it’s good for is, as Howard says, opening a dialogue; facilitating a difficult, in some cases impossible, subject to broach...
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A specialist in addiction medicine offers guidance in identifying opioid misuse and the appropriate means of withdrawing patients from long term opioid therapy. The longer term management and rehabilitation of these patients is also considered.
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Dr. Weaver discusses the consequences of alcohol use disorder (AUD) for the development and management of chronic pain syndromes. Techniques for screening for AUD, and motivational interviewing as a therapeutic technique are also considered.
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Doctors Gourlay and Heit, specialists in the arena of pain and addition, explore some of the more common issues confronting the primary care clinician in the management of long-term opioid prescribing. The focus is on the challenges of the inherited patient. In part 2, we consider the issue of...
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Doctors Gourlay and Heit, specialists in the arena of pain and addition, explore some of the more common issues confronting the primary care clinician in the management of long-term opioid prescribing. The focus is on the challenges of the inherited patient.
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In response to the escalating crisis of opioid abuse and overdose fatalities, states are adopting dosage thresholds as part of their prescribing guidelines. A clinical pharmacist and public policy professor summarize the public health landscape that has spawned this response, and evaluate the impact...
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Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) are widely available, but not yet uniformly used. A clinical pharmacist and associate professor evaluates the current landscape, and what can be improved to enhance their utility in curbing substance misuse and abuse.
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Although prescription medications are of great benefit to many patients with chronic non-cancer pain, there are significant complications for patients who are either addicted or in recovery. Dr. Durham, a clinical pharmacist, professor of pharmacy, and medication prescriber, considers the...
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A specialist in pain and substance abuse discusses findings from the research on vulnerable populations in the pain community. Patients with pain and concurrent substance use disorders are particularly at risk for depression and suicidal ideation. To what degree does this underlie the problem of...