The Opioid Stewardship Project

The Opioid Epidemic

Over 70,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in 2019 (CDC Wonder, 2020). Of those overdoses, 72.9% included synthetic opioids. While opioid prescriptions have declined nationally (Figure 1), overdoses continue to rise (IQVIA, 2020). Fentanyl has been the primary driver of the opioid epidemic in San Diego County (Figure 2) (San Diego County Department of the Medical Examiner, 2021). In collaboration with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency and the Prescription Drug Abuse Task Force, Champions for Health has put together an innovative curriculum to bring the newest methods in safe prescribing to our local practitioners.

Innovations and Smart Approaches in Safe Prescribing

Our team of experts includes a distinguished group of physicians, pharmacists, and nurse practitioners from Southern California. Together, we compiled a program that brings cutting edge techniques and materials to local providers.

CME On-Demand Webinars

Champions for Health has partnered with The Doctors Company to offer a series of four on-demand courses, free of charge. The courses are meant to act as training tools that can be taken at your own convenience in approximately 45-minute segments. You are encouraged to revisit as needed. Courses are available to all interested healthcare professionals; check with your specific professional continuing education guidelines for eligibility to earn credits. Courses include:

Eliminating Stigma through Clinical Understanding
Alternatives to Opioids for Pain
Safe Prescribing of Opioids and CNS Depressants
Recognition, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Substance Use Disorder.

Academic Detailing

We also offer free peer-to-peer, virtual academic detailing sessions. These brief, 20-minute sessions include a one-on-one conversation tailored to your practice and patients’ needs. Currently, our team offers detailing sessions on the topics listed below:

Alternative Pain Management
Buprenorphine and the X-Waiver
Opioid Tapering
Benzodiazepine Stewardship
Naloxone

To schedule a detailing session or request more information on our program, please email katy.rogers@championsfh.org. Funding for this initiative was provided by the Overdose Data to Action Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

References:

Wide-ranging online data for epidemiologic research (WONDER). Atlanta, GA: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2020. Available at http://wonder.cdc.gov.
IQVA Exponent, Mar 2020. IQVIA National Prescription Audit; IVIA Institute, Nov 2020. Available at https://www.iqvia.com/en/insights/the-iqvia-institute/reports/prescription-opioid-trends-in-the-united-states
San Diego County Department of the Medical Examiner, 2021. Available at https://www.sandiegorxabusetaskforce.org/local-statistics