The misuse of extended-release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioids is a major public health problem. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the following:

• From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million people died from drug overdoses.
• 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

The CO*RE/ASAM Pain Management and Opioids: Balancing Risks and Benefits addresses the opioid public health crisis. This comprehensive course was developed by renowned experts from Collaborative for REMS Education (CO*RE) and incorporates all six units outlined in FDA blueprint for safe opioid prescribing. The updated course also provides necessary context for safe opioid prescribing by discussing biopsychosocial aspects of pain, the newest clinical guidelines on the treatment of chronic pain, and state policies about prescribing opioids.

Learners will be able to:

1. Accurately assess patients with pain for consideration of an opioid trial
2. Establish realistic goals for pain management and restoration of function
3. Initiate opioid treatment (IR and ER/LA) safely and judiciously, maximizing efficacy while minimizing risks
4. Monitor and re-evaluate treatment continuously; discontinue safely when appropriate
5. Counsel patients and caregivers about use, misuse, abuse, diversion, and overdose
6. Educate patients about safe storage and disposal of opioids
7. Demonstrate working knowledge and ability to access general and specific information about opioids, especially those used in your practice.

CME Information and Disclosure Listing

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. ASAM has been awarded the highest level of Accreditation with Commendation by the ACCME as a provider of continuing medical education.  

The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.  

In accordance with the disclosure policies of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities. These policies include resolving all conflicts of interest between the Medical Education Council, the CME Committee, program planning committees and faculty, and commercial interests that might otherwise compromise the goal and educational integrity of the activity. All program planning committee members and faculty participating in the activity have disclosed all relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. The ASAM CME Committee has reviewed these disclosures and determined that the program planning committee and faculty relationships are not inappropriate in the context of their respective presentations and are not inconsistent with the educational goals and integrity of the activity.  

ASAM CME Committee

Program Planning Committee

Faculty

  ASAM CME Committee Reviewers

ACCME Accreditation Statement

The American Society of Addiction Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

AMA Credit Designation Statement

The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

ABPM Maintenance of Certification (MOC)

The American Board of Preventive Medicine (ABPM) has approved this activity for a maximum of 2.5 LLSA credits towards ABPM MOC Part II requirements.

ABAM Transitional Maintenance of Certification (tMOC)

This course has been approved by the American Board of Addiction Medicine (ABAM). Physicians enrolled in the ABAM Transitional Maintenance of Certification Program (tMOC) can apply a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for completing this course.

Acknowledgement

Presented by ASAM, a member of the Collaborative on REMS Education (CO*RE), 10 interdisciplinary organizations working together to improve pain management and prevent adverse outcomes.

RPC Commercial Support Disclosure Statement

This educational activity is supported by an independent educational grant from the ER/LA Opioid Analgesic REMS Program Companies. Please see this link for a listing of the member companies. This activity is intended to be fully compliant with the ER/LA Opioid Analgesic REMS education requirements issued by the US Food & Drug Administration.

This course is not intended to advocate for the use of ER/LA Opioids, but to ensure proper education about safe prescribing practices should a medical provider determine that ER/LA Opioids are the best course of treatment.

The ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine 40-Hour Program is an innovative educational program empowering primary care and other providers to identify, treat, and/or refer patients at risk for or with addiction. Participants will learn how to recognize, screen, treat and refer patients with substance use disorders through 40 CME hours of interactive, case-based learning. This program is designed for healthcare professionals who received little addiction education during their medical training including physicians, clinicians, and other healthcare providers in primary care, emergency/urgent care, treatment centers and general psychiatry settings.

Why Participate

• Participants will receive official recognition and certificate for the completion of all 40 CME hours as laid out in the curriculum.
• Help patients that are already in your practice and be a part of the solution to the one of the nation’s deadliest epidemics
• Increase knowledge, skills and confidence for providers who may have received little or no addiction education during their medical training
• Learn how to integrate addiction medicine and payment models into your existing practice
• Connect with a community of colleagues and mentors for additional support with complex patients
• Experience content created specifically for primary care and other providers based on extensive needs-assessment
• Learn core competencies and knowledge needed to identify, treat, and refer patients with addiction to specialists when needed
• Earn a certificate of completion from ASAM upon completion of the 40-Hour CME Program

Curriculum Topics

• Attitudes towards addiction and treating patients with addiction
• Substance use disorders medications
• Neurobiology of addiction
• Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT)
• Motivational interviewing
• Medical and Psychiatric Co-morbidities
• Diagnosing substance use disorders
• Developing a treatment plan (including ASAM Criteria)
• Special populations (such as adolescents, pregnant women, etc)
• Referral to specialists

Program Activities

The ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine 40-Hour CME Program is comprised of five activities. All activities align with the nine identified addiction medicine competencies for primary care providers. ASAM has also gathered a collection of resources and tools reviewed by experts related to various topics of addiction medicine and working with patients at risk for or with substance use disorders (SUD) to supplement participant’s learning.   

Registration to the program includes the online version of all activities. Participants may elect to complete activities in a live, in-person format when available to fulfill program requirements.  Additional fees may apply for live-in-person events. Registration fees for the full-price, 8-hour live workshop will be credited towards the overall price of the ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine 40-Hour Program for new participants.

Program Competencies

The ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine 40-Hour Program seeks to help learners achieve nine identified competencies in the addiction medicine field. 

1. Interact with patients and professional colleagues so as to display professionalism in all activities, by demonstrating commitment to the health and well-being of individuals and society through ethical practice, profession-led regulation, and high personal standards of behavior.
2. Identify their feelings and attitudes that promote or prevent therapeutic responses to their patients with substance use disorders.
3. Understand the addictive disorders as developmental biopsychosocial disorders.
4. Take an evidence-based approach to detecting substance use disorders. 
5. Respond to positive substance use screening results with brief counseling strategies, appropriate to the patient’s readiness to change.
6. Use motivational interviewing with patients ambivalent about changing their substance use behavior.
7. Conduct a biopsychosocial and developmental ambulatory assessment of an adult with a suspected SUD to match the patient to an appropriate level of care.
8. List the indications, contraindications and duration of treatment of evidence based pharmacotherapy for alcohol, tobacco, and opioid use disorders and refer patient to specialty care where appropriate. 
9. Reflect on the role of behavioral interventions for patients and families including formal intensive ambulatory and inpatient treatment and informal programs such as mutual aid groups in the recovery process for patients in their practice/ communities.

The 40 hour CME curriculum is structured around these nine competencies, of which each competency has several learning objectives. Activities in the curriculum will align with at least one of the learning objectives.

If you experience any difficulties, please feel free to call the ASAM office at 301-656-3920 or email education@asam.org .

Note:  This program is for providers who are seeking additional knowledge about addiction medicine. This is not a certification or designed to prepare providers for certification exams. Providers interested in becoming an ABMS certified Addiction Specialist should go to www.abpm.org and/or learn about Addiction Fellowship programs at https://www.addictionmedicinefoundation.org/.

Why Participate?

Participants are saying....

• “This is probably the best post-graduate training I've ever done…The webinar format was engaging and educational. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to have involved at that level.” – MD, Massachusetts

• “Appreciate your effort to organize the training. It was a great experience. I'd definitely recommend this to my primary care colleagues.” – MD, Maryland

• “…living in the Northeast, I’m afraid I get very provincial so it’s been really interesting to hear everybody…but it’s the across the country responses that have been so helpful.” – MD, Massachusetts

• “Living in Alaska, the resources for substance abuse treatment is probably not as diversified as in other areas…so this clinic has been valuable to me… providing the information and talking, collaborating with other professions in the field to help provide the best care of the patients.” – NP, Alaska

Extensive Development from Experts.... 

The ASAM Fundamentals 40-Hour Program was developed over multiple years, beginning in 2013. ASAM’s committee of experts created, evaluated, and revised the Fundamentals program continuously to ensure providers received the highest quality, most up-to-date  education.

Competency-Based Program Activities...

The ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine 40-Hour Program is comprised of five components. All components and activities align with the nine identified addiction medicine competencies for primary care providers. ASAM has also gathered a collection of resources and tools reviewed by experts related to various topics of addiction medicine and working with patients at risk for or with substance use disorders (SUD) to supplement participant’s learning.   

Positive Outcomes for Participants' Practice...

Some of the most commonly reported changes as a result of the ASAM Fundamentals 40-Hour Program were:

• Change in patient treatment plans
• Change in approach to patients with SUDs
• More frequent screening, e.g. screening all patients at least annually.
• More use of screening tools or use of different screening tools.
• More or better use of SBIRT
• More or better use of MI techniques
• Increased confidence in treating patients with addiction

ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine Workshop Planning Committee

ASAM CME Committee

Commercial Interest Definition

A commercial interest is any entity producing, marketing, re-selling or distributing health care goods or services consumed by, or used on, patients. The ACCME does not consider providers of clinical service directly to patients to be commercial interests.

Agency Support

ASAM thanks the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for their support of the current Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine ECHO (FAME) series through grant number R18HS025067. 

Disclosure of Commercial Support

The American Society of Addiction gratefully acknowledges the support of the following companies in the development of The ASAM Fundamentals of Addiction Medicine Program.

Indivior provided an unrestricted educational grant to assist with the development, implementation and evaluation of this Fundamentals Program. 

Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)

The American Society of Addiction Medicine has been awarded the highest level of Accreditation with Commendation by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) as a provider of continuing medical education (CME) for physicians. Accreditation in the ACCME System seeks to assure the medical community and the public that ASAM delivers education that is relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. 

The ACCME System employs a rigorous process for evaluating institutions' CME programs according to standards that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients.

Please see individual sessions for accreditation information for specific offerings. 

The misuse of extended-release and long-acting (ER/LA) opioids is a major public health problem. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the following:

• From 2000 to 2015 more than half a million people died from drug overdoses.
• 91 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose.

The CO*RE/ASAM Pain Management and Opioids: Balancing Risks and Benefits addresses the opioid public health crisis. This comprehensive course was developed by renowned experts from Collaborative for REMS Education (CO*RE) and incorporates all six units outlined in FDA blueprint for safe opioid prescribing. The updated course also provides necessary context for safe opioid prescribing by discussing biopsychosocial aspects of pain, the newest clinical guidelines on the treatment of chronic pain, and state policies about prescribing opioids.

Learners will be able to:

• Accurately assess patients with pain for consideration of an opioid trial
• Establish realistic goals for pain management and restoration of function
• Initiate opioid treatment (IR and ER/LA) safely and judiciously, maximizing efficacy while minimizing risks
• Monitor and re-evaluate treatment continuously; discontinue safely when appropriate
• Counsel patients and caregivers about use, misuse, abuse, diversion, and overdose
• Educate patients about safe storage and disposal of opioids
• Demonstrate working knowledge and ability to access general and specific information about opioids, especially those used in your practice.

CME Information and Disclosure Listing

The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to sponsor continuing medical education for physicians. ASAM has been awarded the highest level of Accreditation with Commendation by the ACCME as a provider of continuing medical education.

The American Society of Addiction Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 2.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

In accordance with the disclosure policies of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the effort is made to ensure balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all educational activities. These policies include resolving all conflicts of interest between the Medical Education Council, the CME Committee, program planning committees and faculty, and commercial interests that might otherwise compromise the goal and educational integrity of the activity. All program planning committee members and faculty participating in the activity have disclosed all relevant financial relationships with commercial interests. The ASAM CME Committee has reviewed these disclosures and determined that the program planning committee and faculty relationships are not inappropriate in the context of their respective presentations and are not inconsistent with the educational goals and integrity of the activity.

ASAM CME Committee

Program Planning Committee

Faculty

ASAM CME Committee Reviewers

ASAM Medical Education Council

Acknowledgement

Presented by ASAM, a member of the Collaborative on REMS Education (CO*RE), 10 interdisciplinary organizations working together to improve pain management and prevent adverse outcomes.

RPC Commercial Support Disclosure Statement

This educational activity is supported by an independent educational grant from the ER/LA Opioid Analgesic REMS Program Companies. Please see this link for a listing of the member companies. This activity is intended to be fully compliant with the ER/LA Opioid Analgesic REMS education requirements issued by the US Food & Drug Administration.

This course is not intended to advocate for the use of ER/LA Opioids, but to ensure proper education about safe prescribing practices should a medical provider determine that ER/LA Opioids are the best course of treatment.

This webinar helps build knowledge of The ASAM Appropriate Use of Drug Testing in Clinical Addiction Medicine document, which guides provider decisions about drug testing, as no universal standard exists today. It will allow providers, patients and their families, healthcare administrators, and payers determine clearly what is appropriate practice and what is considered outside the realm of appropriate practice in regard to drug testing in clinical addiction medicine. This webinar is primarily intended for addiction specialists and all providers utilizing drug testing in the context of the identification, diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of patients with, or at risk for, addiction. It will also be useful for physicians and other providers concerned about the possibility of addiction in their patient population.

Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
-Recognize the importance of the guidance needed around drug testing today
-Identify the fundamental components of drug testing in a clinical setting
-Summarize the document's recommendations and discuss how they should be used in practice
-Address common clinical questions around drug testing in a clinical setting

ASAM is part of a collaboration that made this course possible.

Educational Objectives

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to:

Part 1

• Describe the prevalence of substance use and prescription drug misuse among adolescents
• Explain why adolescents are at high risk of developing a substance use disorder and how clinicians can help prevent it
• Demonstrate strategies to build trust with adolescent patients and ensure confidentiality when addressing substance use and prescription drug misuse
• Summarize ways to identify substance use and prescription drug misuse in adolescent patients, including determining their level of risk

Part 2

• Discuss strategies to address substance use and prescription drug misuse in adolescent patients based on their level of use
• Summarize when and how to follow up with adolescent patients who use substances or misuse prescription drugs

Joint Accreditation Statement

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been pl

anned and implemented by the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and National Institute for Drug Abuse.  Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

Physician Continuing Medical Education

The Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

This activity has been reviewed and is acceptable for up to 1.00 Prescribed credit(s) by the American Academy of Family Physicians. AAFP certification begins 06/30/2017. Term of approval is for one year from this date.

This continuing medical education activity has been reviewed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is acceptable for a maximum of 1.00 AAP credits. These credits can be applied toward the AAP CME/CPD Award available to Fellows and Candidate Members of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Continuing Nursing Education

The maximum number of hours awarded for this Continuing Nursing Education activity is 1.0 contact hour.

American Dental Association CERP Recognition

This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) through joint sponsorship efforts between Postgraduate Institute for Medicine and the National Institute for Drug Abuse.

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education.  ADA CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of the credit hours by boards of dentistry.

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine designates this activity for 1.0 continuing education credit.

Education Coalition

This activity was developed by an education Coalition of experts and medical professional organization representatives. The Coalition comprises the following organizations and experts:

Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Postgraduate Institute for Medicine (PIM) requires instructors, planners, managers and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of this activity to disclose any real or apparent conflict of interest (COI) they may have as related to the content of this activity. All identified COI are thoroughly vetted and resolved according to PIM policy.  PIM is committed to providing its learners with high quality CME activities and related materials that promote improvements or quality in healthcare and not a specific proprietary business interest of a commercial interest.

The Education Coalition members reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

Marc Fishman, MD discloses the following: Consulting Fees: US World Meds; Contracted Research: Media Rez, US World Meds

Ownership Interest: Maryland Treatment Centers

The following Education Coalition members have nothing to disclose: Cynthia Kear, Jennifer Butchart, Penny Mills, Arlene Deverman, Stephanie Townsell, Marla Kushner, Anne Norman, Renee Jarrett, Daniel Pace, Marie-Michele Leger, Sara Evans, Vincent DiFabio, Jan Schultz, Dan Alford, Sharon Levy, Jeff Baxter, Marc Fishman, and Carol Havens

The planners and managers reported the following financial relationships or relationships to products or devices they or their spouse/life partner have with commercial interests related to the content of this CME activity:

The following PIM planners and managers, Trace Hutchison, PharmD, Samantha Mattiucci, PharmD, CHCP, Judi Smelker-Mitchek, RN, BSN and Jan Schultz, RN, MSN, CHCP, hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months.

The following National Institute on Drug Abuse planners and managers, Elisabeth Davis; Carol Krause; Josie Anderson; Jack Stein, hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months

The following JBS International, Inc. planners and managers, Candace Baker; Susan Hayashi; Laura Nolan; Bethel Arya; and Veronica Junghahn, hereby state that they or their spouse/life partner do not have any financial relationships or relationships to products or devices with any commercial interest related to the content of this activity of any amount during the past 12 months

For Physicians, Registered Nurses and Dentists, please follow the instructions below:

PIM supports Green CME by offering your Request for Credit online. If you wish to receive acknowledgment for completing this activity, please follow the steps below:

1. Go to CME University at: www.cmeuniversity.com and register or login
2. Once logged in, click on “Find Post-test/Evaluation by Course” at the top of the page
3. Type in 11118 (for Part1) or 12614 (for Part 2) in the box; hit enter
4. Click on the activity title
5. Complete the online posttest and evaluation and obtain your CME certificate to download and/or print for your files.

Upon completion of the online posttest and evaluation form, you will have immediate access to a certificate of attendance to print or save for your files. You can save your certificate by selecting the “Save” option on the print screen. 

For any questions relating to the physician, nursing or dentist accreditation, please contact PIM via:  inquiries@pimed.com

For Nurse Practitioners follow the instructions below:

• Visit the AANP’s Website (coming soon) to take the course for AANP credit.

For Physician Assistants follow the instructions below:

• Visit the AAPA’s Website to take the course for AAPA credit.

For Doctors of Osteopathic Medicine follow the instructions below:

      Visit the AOA’s Website (coming soon) to take the course for AOA credit.

Internet activity

Disclosure of Unlabeled Use

This educational activity may contain discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA. The planners of this activity do not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. 

The opinions expressed in the educational activity are those of the faculty and do not necessarily represent the views of the planners.  Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications, and warnings.

Disclaimer

Participants have an implied responsibility to use the newly acquired information to enhance patient outcomes and their own professional development. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications and/or dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities.