New curriculum aids prescribers to fight opioid addiction across PA

Certain counties throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, particularly in the Appalachian region, are experiencing disproportionately higher opioid overdose rates and related fatalities. A Philadelphia-based non-profit foundation is combating the opioid addiction epidemic at the source by educating frontline allied health professionals on various aspects of the nation's opioid crisis, specifically in Pennsylvania and the Appalachian region.

The Rothman Orthopaedic Institute Foundation for Opioid Research and Education (Rothman Opioid Foundation) is a leader in opioid-related research and education. Thanks to a three-year grant from the federal Appalachian Region Commission, and support from the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Foundation has used its expertise to educate allied health professionals in the Commonwealth and Appalachia on proper opioid prescribing and use.

The Rothman Opioid Foundation has created and is distributing opioid prescribing education curriculum at no cost for the 75 allied healthcare professional training programs, such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants, at collegiate institutions across Pennsylvania and soon, the broader Appalachian Region.

“Physician assistants and nurse practitioners are valued professionals, and they will greatly benefit from basic and advanced training in opioid pharmacology, prescribing, use, and abuse,” says Dr. Asif Ilyas, MD, MBA, FACS, President of the Rothman Opioid Foundation in Philadelphia, PA.

The Foundation has developed the prescriber training curriculum and offers the multi-module eight-hour course free of charge. It is an online, self-paced certificate program designed to easily complement students' current curriculum in the clinical phases of their training.

The targeted allied health professionals include nurse practitioners (NPs) and physicians' assistants (PAs). Education includes, but not be limited to, opioid prescribing guidelines and indications for various conditions, pain management alternatives to opioids, identification of potential opioid abuse, and intervention strategies. The educational programs will also consist of online webinar series, certifying course training, and in-person events when feasible.
While most opioid-related education targets physicians, Ilyas, who also serves as a Professor at Thomas Jefferson University, says many more healthcare providers interact with individuals suffering from or are susceptible to opioid misuse.

“NPs and PAs have prescribing rights. They are vital physician extenders who need to be educated and recruited in the fight against the opioid addiction crisis in Pennsylvania and across the Appalachian region,” says Ilyas. “This information will be tailored specifically to these allied health professionals to mitigate the rate of opioid addiction at the source by teaching optimal pain management strategies, opioid prescribing, and identifying early symptoms of misuse, so our future healthcare leaders are an integral element in stopping opioid abuse."

The Rothman Opioid Foundation plans to partner with colleges and universities to distribute this information to as many healthcare students as possible in the Appalachian Region. “The opioid addiction crisis has taken a drastic toll on the Appalachian region and the country. To lower the chance of misuse and overdose in patients, it is imperative that our local frontline healthcare workers are adequately trained and educated in the pathophysiology of opioid addiction, and they have resources available to guide effective and safe pain management,” says Ilyas.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 130 Americans die daily from an opioid overdose. This includes prescription medications and illicit opioids. Low-income and rural areas are most likely to experience the opioid addiction crisis's adverse effects, as evidenced by data published by the Appalachian Regional Commission. Pennsylvania's rural residents, like those in Armstrong, Fayette, and Green Counties, are at greater risk due to a lack of resources or healthcare services to address their addiction. These regions often lack accessible health services, especially those considered "specialized" services, such as addiction treatment.

In addition, communities with a high uninsured population are at greater addiction risk as individuals without healthcare insurance are much less likely to receive treatment than those insured. In turn, these individuals are more likely to seek primary care through an urgent care setting, generally staffed by a physician extender (PAs and NPs). As noted above, these allied health professionals may not have received the extent of opioid-related education that their physician counterparts have.

“Therefore, it is essential that professional education, designed to provide future allied health professionals with the tools necessary to screen for and identify addiction in the primary care setting visit, is available across rural regions of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the greater Appalachian region,” says Ilyas.