Opioids

ACOEM has updated the treatment guidelines concerning opioids. This report highlights the safety-sensitive work recommendation that has been developed.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s guidelines for treatment of acute, subacute, chronic, and postoperative pain with opioids.

episode of Talking Total Farmer Health

The Clinical Opiate Withdrawal Scale (COWS) is an 11-item scale designed to be administered by a clinician.

Guidelines produced by the CDC on the usage of non-opioid treatments for chronic pain.

A CDC informational resource on opioid overdoses treated in emergency departments.

Guidelines produced by the CDC regarding the usage of opioids to treat acute pain.

Improving the way opioids are prescribed will ensure patients have access to safer, more effective chronic pain treatment while reducing opioid misuse, abuse, and overdose.

Guidelines produced by the CDC on the usage of opioids to treat chronic pain.

A guide for rural health and safety professionals on talking to farmers about pain management and opioid use.

A resource guide created specifically for talking about pain with farmers.

Prescription opioids are often the first-line therapy to treat chronic and acute pain among farmers. Prescribing opioids to farmer populations that may not seek regular treatment or have access to alternative therapies increases the risk for potential opioid misuse. Properly assessing for these characteristics among other abuse or addiction risk factors, is critical in providing treatment that is both appropriate and effective. The training module will seek to provide insight on misuse risk factors among farmers to better inform healthcare providers on warning signs in this specific cohort.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine released recommendations for opioid prescribing based on safety-sensitive occupations. Safety-sensitive work is typically classified as operating motor vehicles, modes of transportation, other heavy machinery, or tasks requiring high levels of cognitive function or judgment. Farm duties frequently demand the use of heavy machinery, and concurrent use of narcotics alongside safety-sensitive work can be dangerous. This training educates healthcare providers on how to assess occupational agricultural risks and corresponding patient guidance for those who are taking opioid medications.

The occupational hazards that farmers face put them at greater risk for acute and chronic pain as a result of ergonomic repetition, accident, or surgical procedure. Addressing specific occupational sources of pain and what activities the pain inhibits are crucial to improving treatment. This module will focus on how to transform the conversation between provider and patient to improve health outcomes and patient satisfaction.

In 2018, the U.S. Surgeon General called for increased awareness and availability of naloxone, the opioid antagonist, to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. Despite the rise in the dispensing of naloxone, there is a significant gap in our response across all sectors of society. In the rural parts of our country, where emergency response times can be dangerously long, developing a workplace naloxone availability and use program could ultimately save lives. This webinar will share information from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to help employers and workers understand the risk of opioid overdose and the role of naloxone.