COMMUNITY NEWS Reversing an Epidemic OHSU faculty member leads development of Portland community-wide opioid prescribing guidelines THE STATISTICS ARE STARTLING: 750 people died in Multnomah County because of opiate overdose between 2009 and 2014; opiate drug overdoses claimed more than two lives a week in 2014. Oregon is second nationally for opioid misuse. The data came from a December 2015 Multnomah County Health Department report. Coupled with physicians’ experience providing care to opioiddependent patients and gripping tales of family loss, they represent a movement in the Portland community to reverse what’s being called an epidemic of prescription drug overdoses. Melissa Weimer, DO, assistant professor of medicine, OHSU School of Medicine, chaired a safe prescribing workgroup which recently developed community-wide opiate prescribing guidelines. “We’re in the midst of one of the worst public health crises that the United States has ever seen,” said Dr. Weimer during a November 2015 announcement of the guidelines. “These prescribing standards will guide providers to more safely and effectively prescribe opiates if they are prescribed at all.” Organized under the auspices of the Healthy Columbia Willamette Collaborative (HCWC), the guidelines “provide a minimum standard of care for safe prescribing of opioids to patients suffering from chronic pain that is not related to cancer or a terminal condition.” The HCWC is a group of 14 hospitals, clinics and Coordinated Care Organizations working to improve the health and well-being of community members. OHSU’s Dr. Melissa Weimer chaired a workgroup which developed safe opiate prescribing guidelines embraced by more than a dozen Portland area hospitals, clinics and CCOs. Image courtesy Multnomah County. The guidelines were developed and have been adopted by Adventist Health, CareOregon, Central City Concern, Clackamas Health Centers, FamilyCare Health, HealthShare of Oregon, Kaiser Permanente, Legacy Health, Multnomah County Clinics, OHSU, PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center, Providence Health & Services, Tuality Healthcare and Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Center. “Better, safer and more effective chronic pain treatment is available,” said Dr. Weimer, who went on to acknowledge that the prescribing guidelines are only one aspect of the change. “We cannot emphasize enough the importance of expanding addiction treatment, as well. We cannot decrease access to opioids without having effective treatments available to patients.” At more than 1,500 physician and advanced practice provider members, the OHSU Faculty Practice Plan represents the largest organized clinical practice in Oregon. While OHSU providers in several specialties were already prescribing opioids according to the guidelines, training and specialty-specific information will be provided to support OHSU-wide implementation. Armed with the community standards and a common commitment to better serve patients with chronic conditions, the path forward is clear. 28 Medicine in Oregon www.TheOMA.org
OMA Medicine in OR Winter 2015 2016
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