CDC issues emergency health advisory regarding overdose deaths accelerating during COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently released a Health Alert Network (HAN) alerting medical and public health professionals, first responders, harm reduction organizations, and other community partners that more than 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States in the 12 months ending in May 2020. This is the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in a 12-month period. While overdose deaths were already increasing in the months preceding the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the latest numbers suggest an acceleration of overdose deaths during the pandemic. The HAN says synthetic opioids (primarily illicitly manufactured fentanyl) appear to be the primary driver of the increases.

Enforcement of Medicare e-prescribing mandate delayed

New federal and state requirements for the electronic prescribing of controlled substances will take effect on Jan 1, 2021. However, the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) reports that the enforcement date for the federal Medicare e-prescribing requirement was recently extended by one year. In addition, the Indiana Board of Pharmacy has established a process to apply for waivers from the state electronic prescribing requirement. This waiver process is separate from the statutory exceptions that are available under the law. Read more about this on ISMA’s website.

New CDC Training and Resources for Safer Opioid Prescribing

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a suite of training tools and resources to help clinicians and healthcare executives apply the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain in clinical settings. This includes a new interactive, online training module that highlights strategies for improving patient outcomes by reducing opioid administration and prescribing in the emergency department, as well as short videos on opioid tapering and risk factors. Click here to access the full suite of clinician training and resources.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Rural and Urban Overdose Prevention Strategies in Illinois and Michigan

11 a.m. – Noon ET Jan. 7

This webinar will highlight overdose disparities in rural and urban populations, with an emphasis on the unique challenges associated with engaging diverse populations in these settings. Presenters from Illinois and Michigan will share data on disparities in their respective states, along with examples of strategies being implemented to engage disparate populations in overdose prevention.

Click here to register.

2021 Opioid Prescribing and Abuse Webinar Series

In 2021, the Indiana State Medical Association (ISMA) is introducing a new series of monthly live webinars on opioid prescribing and abuse. Each webinar, presented the second Thursday of each month at noon ET, counts toward the two hours of continuing medical education (CME) required to obtain or renew a Controlled Substances Registration in Indiana. These webinars are free for ISMA members. All webinars will be recorded and will be available to ISMA members at no charge on the ISMA Online app as a benefit of membership.

To register:
Jan. 14: Legislative and Legal Update (Stacy L. Cook, JD, LLM)

Feb. 11: Opioid Use in Palliative Care (Timothy J. Broach, MD)

March 11: Opioid Use in Hospice Care (Timothy J. Broach, MD)

Partnering for Child Safety: Fatality Review Teams and State Title V Program

2 p.m. – 3 p.m. Jan. 14

In this webinar the National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention will describe Child Death Review (CDR) and Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR), with a focus on data collection, and provide examples of how fatality review supports Title V work. Additionally, written guidance on how fatality review can support national performance measures on adolescent mental health, including youth suicide, infant safe sleep and smoking during pregnancy will be highlighted and distributed.

To register for this webinar, click here.