Accession Number:

AD1182663

Title:

Assessing Changes in Opioid Prescribing Habits of U.S. Army Dental Corps Providers Following Completion of Opioid Prescriber Safety Training

Descriptive Note:

[Technical Report, Master's Thesis]

Corporate Author:

UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIV OF THE HEALTH SCIENCES BETHESDA MD

Report Date:

2020-06-05

Pagination or Media Count:

14

Abstract:

On October 21, 2015, the White House released a Presidential Memorandum addressing the need to reduce prescription pain medication and heroin overdose deaths by ensuring medical professionals receive adequate training and improving access to medication-assisted treatment therapies. The opioid public health crisis pervades into both military and civilian populations. Nearly 12.5 million people misused opioids in2015 and overdose was associated with 33,091 deaths. Misuse is defined as use of an opioid for reasons other than pain, use of an old opioid prescription for new reason or use of more medication than prescribed. Balancing management of pain with patient desires and mitigating the risk of promoting opioid misuse is a professional challenge all health care providers face. The U.S. Armed Services are vulnerable to negative impacts of opioid misuse and abuse for a variety of reasons. It is the responsibility of Dental Corps providers to fully consider the impact of opioids on our patient population and organizational readiness when making clinical decisions regarding the prescription of narcotics.

Subject Categories:

  • Medicine and Medical Research
  • Pharmacology

Distribution Statement:

[A, Approved For Public Release]