Opioids & Pain Management

The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) has released an updated AGS Beers Criteria for Potentially Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults. This article details the methodology and modifications.

Download this one-page checklist from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which lists what to consider and assess if prescribing opioids for chronic pain conditions.

Based on a pain recognition study conducted by the authors of the article, "Assessing Pain and Falls Risk in Residents With Cognitive Impairment: Associated Problems With Overlooked Assessments," they developed a checklist that health care providers can use to identify nonverbal cues of chronic pain in elderly residents. The use of such an instrument may serve to better identify those cognitively impaired persons who may benefit from a pain management plan.

Chronic pain is not a normal part of aging. Use this tool for ideas and techniques to manage chronic pain in older adults.

This tool from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is intended to assist facilities in identifying risk factors for adverse drug events and implementing programs to minimize such risks.

Minimum Data Set (MDS) training is available in Section N, Medications – Drug Regimen Review. Scroll down the page to locate the Section N materials.

Health care providers can give patients this menu of ways to take the edge off pain without using medications.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has updated prescribing information for all opioid pain medicines to provide additional guidance for safe use and to help reduce unnecessary prescribing.

This presentation is from the Feb. 16, 2023, LTC Connect webinar, "Adverse Drug Events."

This Feb. 16, 2023, LTC Connect recording focuses on the three commonly prescribed medications that can cause adverse drug events (ADEs) in nursing home residents. TMF Quality Innovation Network-Quality Improvement Organization specialists reviewed information on anticoagulant, diabetic and opioid medications, BEERS criteria and how ADEs can affect readmission and hospitalization rates.

In compliance with the federal Medication Access and Training Expansion (MATE) Act, health care practitioners who are registered with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to prescribe controlled substances must complete eight hours of training on the diagnosis, treatment, and management of patients with opioid or other substance-use disorders. More information is available on the American Medical Association website.

This mini-toolkit includes resources geared toward improving medication safety.

This website provides best practices and resources to assist nursing facilities with identifying and mitigating controlled substance diversion in a standardized and accelerated fashion. It includes downloadable documents as well as a webinar series.

This Jan. 18 webinar recording features Vicki Lepant of Rural Health Development and TMF's Behavioral Health Medical Director Clifford Moy, MD, discussing a naloxone rescue in a nursing home and how opioid adverse drug events are contributing to hospital readmissions.

This naloxone nursing home toolkit is intended to provide easy-to-adapt policies and procedures for nursing homes that need to implement or improve their emergency response to opioid overdose, which includes naloxone administration.

This webinar will walk you through a toolkit and the steps to create comprehensive naloxone policies and procedures for your nursing home.

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging’s Education and Awareness Program includes a variety of webpages that include information about opioid pain medications, non-opioid pain medications and integrative medicine therapies.

Use this resource to understand the effects of opioids on the brain, body and everyday activities; and learn how to lower the risks of adverse effects if you have to take opioids.

This toolkit has been prepared as a resource manual for use by Veterans Health Administration (VHA) managers and staff in implementing the VHA National Pain Management Strategy. It offers guidelines for the completion of comprehensive pain assessments.

Listen to this podcast with Clifford Moy, MD, the behavioral health medical director at TMF Health Quality Institute and Dr. Paul Milligan, a clinical pharmacist, as they discuss multimodal pain management.

Listen to this podcast with Clifford Moy, MD, the behavioral health medical director at TMF Health Quality Institute and Dr. Paul Milligan, a clinical pharmacist, as they discuss opioid-induced respiratory depression.

Listen to this podcast with Clifford Moy, MD, the behavioral health medical director at TMF Health Quality Institute and Dr. Paul Milligan, a clinical pharmacist, as they discuss discuss opioid safety in nursing home residents.

Watch this scenario on how the team identifies and addresses process gaps related to medication diversion concerns in their nursing home.

Download this list of medications for reference. Note, this list does not supersede obtaining consent where required.

In this resource, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) summarizes the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (CDC Guideline) and offers a quality improvement framework that allows health care systems and practice leaders to pick interventions best suited to the unique conditions in their practice and patient population.

This quality measure tip sheet provides an overview of long-stay antianxiety or hypnotic medication use, MDS coding requirements and additional tips and assessment considerations.

There are substantial and persistent racial and ethnic inequities in opioid access among older patients dying of cancer. Use this article to propel you to evaluate your facility’s processes.

Bring your team up to speed with Regulatory Updates on Fentanyl Patch Disposal for Nursing Homes from Pharmerica, a handy resource focused on the standard for safely disposing of fentanyl patches.

This printable tool from the Institute for Safe Medication Practices offers fast facts, guidance and tips for the safe handling and use of Fentanyl Patches.

This toolkit contains resources for opioid use disorder facts, five essential steps for first responders, information for prescribers, safety advice for patients and family members, and recovering from opioid overdose.

Use the Managing Chronic Pain in Older Adults: A Long-term Care Perspective article with this tip sheet published by the American Association for Long Term Care Nursing.

The COE-NF serves as a centralized hub and national model for expanding capacity in nursing facilities to care for residents with a variety of behavioral health needs. Training, technical assistance and workforce development will be provided for staff in nursing facilities.

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published this guidance to help broaden healthcare professionals’ understanding of medications that can be used to treat Americans with opioid use disorder (OUD).

This tool from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement provides instructions for conducting a retrospective review of patient records using triggers to identify possible adverse drug events. Log-in may be required to access information.

La Red de Innovación de la Calidad de TMF, bajo contrato con los Centros de Servicios de Medicare y Medicaid, diseñó este paquete de cambios para proporcionar las estrategias para abordar los eventos adversos de medicamentos.