The mission of The Tufts Health Care Institute (THCI) Opioid Risk Management Program (ORMP) is to improve pain relief and reduce prescription opioid abuse in the United States by providing a neutral forum for discussion and the exchange of ideas among diverse stakeholders;generating recommendations on research and education;and engaging the wider public health, and medical and scientific communities in the area of opioid risk management. The THCI-ORMP addresses challenges in the safe and appropriate use of opioid analgesics. The program engages a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders focused on optimizing the benefits of opioids for pain management, and minimizing their risks, including diversion, abuse and addiction. The THCI-ORMP conducted [11] summit meetings between March 2005 and [July 2009]. The major aim of this proposal is to seek funding to help support a continued series of two summit meetings per year for the next three years. These meetings are interactive sessions, which include didactic short, expert presentations, participant discussions, and breakout groups. Participants in these forums have included representatives from government regulatory agencies, academia, health care delivery organizations, health plans, pharmaceutical companies and law enforcement. Total conference attendance to date is [583]. For each summit meeting there is extensive pre-planning to make sure that goals, objectives, and expected deliverables are clear. In addition, after each meeting, there is post-conference work to ensure that all presentations and other deliverables are in a form that is clear and comprehendible, as all of these items are placed on the publicly accessible THCI-ORMP website. Finally, session evaluations of each speaker and topic are assessed to develop feedback to facilitate improvement in subsequent meetings. Building on its successful initial activities, the THCI-ORMP now proposes, with the support of this conference grant, to conduct a series of two scientific meetings per year for the next three years, on a range of issues addressing opioid abuse. The long-term goal of these meetings is to identify a research agenda and knowledge gaps, based on the perspectives of multiple stakeholders, that will translate existing research findings into practical applications for delineating clinically appropriate opioid prescribing for pain control in patients while addressing improper use by preventing and treating prescription opioid addiction. Additional funding will enable the Program to continue its efforts to disseminate summit meeting findings and observations through website postings and peer- reviewed publications.
Balancing access to opioids for pain relief and the need to minimize prescription opioid abuse has become an urgent public health problem. This proposal seeks funding to help continue a series of scientific summit meetings on Opioid Risk Management by establishing a neutral educational forum to engage a multidisciplinary group of stakeholders focused on optimizing the benefits of opioids and minimizing the risks of abuse, addiction, and diversion.
