Opioid Safety and Overdose Prevention

While narcotic analgesics remain a mainstay for the treatment of acute and chronic pain, urgent care visits and deaths from opioid overdoses have skyrocketed.   Our panelists are Dr. Lucas Hill from the University of Texas at Austin and Jeffrey Bratberg from the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Hill practices in a primary care setting and maintains the iForumRx  Opioid Safety and Overdose Prevention Resource Page.  Dr. Bratberg helped develop, implement, and expand the Collaborative Pharmacy Practice for Naloxone Partnership in Rhode Island. Drs. Hill and Bratberg describe how healthprofessionals - particularly ambulatory care pharmacists - can take action to improve the safe use of opioids and prevent overdoses.