FACULTY

HOWARD A. HEIT, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.S.A.M.
CHRONIC PAIN SPECIALIST
ASSISTANT CLINICAL PROFESSOR
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY
WASHINGTON D.C.

STATEMENT OF NEED
The effectiveness of opioids for chronic pain has been proven, but issues of physical dependence, abuse, and social and legal concerns have rendered their use in chronic nonmalignant pain controversial. Under treatment of chronic pain persists despite the availability of drugs and other therapies for effective pain management. It is therefore imperative to update the audience on the legal, ethical and appropriate use of opioids.

EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE
To update the audience on the problems associated with the prescribing of opioids from the physician and patient perspective - balancing patient needs with regulatory requirements, how to identify and treat appropriate candidates for opioid therapy, and the issues associated with the legal prescribing and dispensing of opioid analgesics to comply with statutory and regulatory requirements.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Identify the needs of balancing patient and regulatory requirements.
2. Demonstrate how to identify and treat appropriate candidates for opioid therapy.
3. Understand the issues associated with the legal prescribing and dispensing of opioid analgesics to comply with the statuatory and regulatory requirements.

TARGET AUDIENCE
This online activity is intended for physicians, pharmacists and nurses involved in the treatment of pain patients.

ACCREDITATION/CREDIT DESIGNATION STATEMENTS

Physicians
The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation designates this educational activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s).^TM. Each physician should claim only those credits that he/she actually spent in the activity.


Pharmacists
Purdue University is accredited by the Accreditation council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. This is a continuing education activity of Purdue, an equal access/equal opportunity university. To receive the 1.0 contact hour of continuing education credit, pharmacists should complete the activity requirements and evaluation at the conclusion of the slide show. approval is valid from the initial release date of November 12, 2007. The expiration date is July 31, 2008. Program #018-999-07-197-HO3-P.

Nurses
The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation is an approved provider of the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 4229 for 1.20 contact hours.

RNs outside California must verify with their licensing agency for approval of this course.

METHOD OF PARTICIPATION
This free online activity should take approximately 1 hour to complete, including 47 minutes of recorded material. The participant should:

• Read the objectives at the beginning of the presentation and the introductory material.
• Click on the arrow to proceed through the slide deck
• Take the post-test. The post-test can be accessed by clicking on the post-test icon that follows the presentation.
• Complete the online registration and evaluation. The evaluation form provides each participant with the opportunity to comment on the quality of the instructional process, the perception of enhanced professional effectiveness, the perception of commercial bias, and his or her views on future educational needs.
• Participants who complete the post-test, evaluation and registration will be issued a CME/CPE/CE certificate that may be printed at their location. A database of certificates awarded online is maintained at the accrediting agency. No additional certificate will be mailed. Expiration date for credit is July 31, 2008.

In the event you are unable to print the certificate, please submit the post-test and then email editor@dannemiller.com and a certificate will be mailed to you within two weeks.

DISCLOSURE INFORMATION
The Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation requires that the faculty participating in a continuing medical education activity disclose to participants any significant financial interest or other relationship (1) with the manufacturer(s) of any commercial product(s) and/or provider(s) of commercial services discussed in an educational presentation, and (2) with any commercial supporters of the activity. The participating faculty reported the following:

Howard A. Heit, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.S.A.M. reported
Speakers' Bureau Member - Abbott Labs, Cephalon, and Purdue Pharma L.P.
Consultant - Abbott Labs, Endo, and Purdue Pharma L.P.
Honoraria - Purdue Pharma, L.P.

UNLABELED OR INVESTIGATIONAL DRUG/MEDICAL DEVICES DISCLOSURE
It is the policy of the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation that faculty disclose any unlabeled or investigational drugs/medical devices discussed in his/her presentation. Any such disclosure will be made during this presentation when these drugs/devices are first discussed.

DISCLAIMER
The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation and Purdue Pharma LP. This material is prepared based upon a review of multiple sources of information, but it is not exhaustive of the subject matter. Therefore, healthcare professionals and other individuals should review and consider other publications and materials on the subject matter before relying solely upon the information contained within this educational activity.

For questions regarding the content of this activity and technical assistance, contact Dannemiller Memorial Educational Foundation, accredited provider for this CME/CPE/CE activity, at editor@dannemiller.com.

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