CME Webcast Teaches on Multimodal Analgesia: Concepts and Strategies to Reduce Opioid Use. With the invention of the hypodermic syringe and hollow needle in 1850, morphine began to be used for surgical procedures and post-operative pain. However, many people became addicted to morphine so chemists set out to develop safer, more effective, and less addictive opioids. Thus heroin was created by the Bayer pharmaceutical company in 1898. That was followed by the synthesis of meperidine in 1939, methadone in 1946, and fentanyl in 1960. But all of these proved to be just as addictive as morphine. And this has left physicians in general and surgeons in particular with the dilemma of how do you relieve pain and suffering without causing the harm of addiction? Fortunately, we now have some guidance. Joining the webcast to tell us about strategies to treat pain while reducing opioid doses is OSU Professor of Plastic Surgery and the Past President of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Jeffrey Janis.

View a video introduction of this webcast

What you’ll learn in this webcast

As a result of this educational activity, webcast participants will be able to: UNDERSTAND the current epidemiology and causes of the current opioid crisis in the United States; Understand the current opioid prescribing practices for perioperative pain; and DEVELOP intra-operative and post-operative pain management strategies to reduce opioid use.

You’ll also learn about the following:

• Whether opioids used for pain management result in opioid addiction?
• Opioid alternatives for pain management

You can find this and many other MedNet21 programs on the OSU – CCME website.

Call our MedNet21 Program Manager at 614.293.3473 for more details about subscribing to MedNet21 as a hospital or as an individual. You can also e-mail him at derrick.freeman@osumc.edu.