Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

Journalists: Broadcast-quality video pkg (1:00) is in the downloads. Read the script.

Opioid pain medication can hook people into addiction quickly. Some worry that EDs are a major source for these drugs.

Dr. Jeffery says, “One thing that sort of everybody thinks they know about opioids is that, in the ED, they give opioids out like candy.”

Not true, says Dr. Jeffery. She and her colleagues published a study that found opioid prescriptions from the ED are written for a shorter duration and smaller dose than those written elsewhere. They also found that patients with acute pain who receive an opioid prescription in the ED are less likely to progress to long-term use.

“What we want to avoid is people having a large prescription and having lots of pills leftover because, at that point, it becomes a risk for their family members and other people who come to their home.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines caution against exceeding a three-day supply or 50 milligrams of morphine equivalent per day for acute pain.

“And, so, limiting prescriptions to three to seven days is a good balance.”

The post Mayo Clinic Minute: Opioids in the ED appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

On the next Mayo Clinic Radio program, Dr. Michael Hooten, an anesthesiologist and pain medicine specialist at Mayo Clinic, will discuss the opioid epidemic in America. Also on the program, Dr. Steve Peters, chief medical information officer, Mayo Clinic, will explain the Plummer Project — Mayo Clinic's institutional move to a single, integrated electronic health record and billing system. And Dr. Douglas Wood, medical director, Mayo Clinic Center for Innovation, will preview the upcoming Transform 2017 conference.

Here's your Mayo Clinic Radio podcast.

The post The opioid epidemic in America: Mayo Clinic Radio appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.

Dr. Hooten contributed to a panel discussion on the history of prescribing, the physiological mechanism that links overuse to dependency, the new state Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program and current practice around opioid prescribing. He spoke about the role of psychiatric comorbidities, such as depression and anxiety, and says the prevalence of these conditions is high among people with chronic pain. “My overall approach is to treat the underlying psychiatric illness directly, then trend away or taper the opioid.”  Dr. Hooten was lead author a recent study that found that 1 in 4 people prescribed opioids progressed to longer-term prescriptions.

Journalists: B-roll of the event and sound bites with Drs. Hooten and Berge are available in the downloads.

Media Contact: To schedule an interview with Drs. Hooten or Berge, contact Rhoda Madson at 507-284-5005 or newsbureau@mayo.edu.

Dr. Berge participated in a panel discussion examining treatment of opioid addiction. The panel addressed the data and latest evidence about effective treatments of opioid addiction, and obstacles to overcome.

Dr. Berge is chair of Mayo Clinic’s Medication Diversion Prevention Committee, which oversees Mayo’s ongoing effort to prevent the diversion of controlled substances from the workplace, and identify and respond quickly when such diversion is detected.

Mayo Clinic was one of the conference sponsors. Other organizers and participants included the U.S. Department of Justice, Minnesota Department of Human Services, U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, the Office of Gov. Mark Dayton, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.

###
About Mayo Clinic

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit worldwide leader in medical care, research and education for people from all walks of life. For more information, visit www.mayoclinic.org/about/ and www.mayoclinic.org/news.

The post Pain. Pill. Problem. Use and overuse of prescription painkillers in Minnesota appeared first on Mayo Clinic News Network.