HHS Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics

Date: Thursday, January 30, 2020
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm (Eastern Time)

An estimated 3% to 4% of adults in the United States use opioids long-term to help manage chronic pain. Evidence is accumulating that the use of non-opioid strategies may provide equal or more effective pain relief with lower risks than opioids for most patients with chronic pain. Also, the benefits of long-term opioid therapy often diminish over time while the risks may not.

In October, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a guide to help clinicians reduce risks and improve outcomes related to opioid dose reduction or discontinuation among patients prescribed opioids to manage pain, particularly chronic pain. The HHS Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-Term Opioid Analgesics emphasizes the importance of shared decision-making with patients, individualized and slow tapering, and integrated pain management and behavioral support for patients.

During this COCA Call, presenters will discuss the HHS guide and the advice it provides to clinicians who are contemplating or initiating a reduction in opioid dosage or discontinuation of long-term opioid therapy for a patient with chronic pain. 

If you are unable to attend this live COCA Call, it will be available on-demand a few days after the call. Free CE will be available. 

Outbreak of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)—Interim Guidance for Clinicians

Date: Friday, January 31, 2020
Time: 2:00pm-3:00pm (Eastern Time)

During this COCA Call, clinicians will learn about the current epidemiology, infection control and prevention recommendations, specimen collection and testing, and clinical management for patients with 2019-nCoV infection.

CE will not be offered for this COCA Call.

Update on Ebola Diagnostics at the State and Federal Levels in the United States

Thursday, December 19, 2019

During this COCA Call, clinicians learned about options for testing for suspected Ebola virus infection in coordination with state and local public health authorities and CDC, as well as the benefits and limitations of existing diagnostic tools.  

Free CE is available.

2019–2020 Influenza Season Update and Recommendations for Clinicians

Tuesday, January 28, 2020

During this COCA Call, clinicians learned about current 2019–2020 influenza activity and CDC’s recommendations for healthcare providers, including influenza vaccination and the appropriate use of antiviral medications.

Free CE will be available. 

COCA is pleased to feature the American Association of Medical Society Executives (AAMSE) in our January COCA Partner Spotlight! 

AAMSE is the professional association of more than 1,300 medical society executives and staff specialists. Through its more than 300 member organizations, AAMSE advances the profession of medicine through education, communication of knowledge, leadership development, and collaboration.

Member organizations include county, regional, state, state specialty, national, national specialty, and international medical societies, as well as affiliated health care organizations and industry partners.

AAMSE is committed to educating and supporting medical society professionals to advance the profession of medical society management, medical societies, and the physicians they serve.

AAMSE's vision is to be the foremost resource for America’s medical society professionals in achieving excellence in medical society management.

To learn more about AAMSE, visit their website and like them on Facebook.

Partnerships with professional associations are vital to CDC’s ability to share information with clinicians about public health emergencies, CDC guidance, health alert messages, and training opportunities.

Welcome to the Clinician’s Corner! This month COCA is excited to feature Paige Armstrong, MD, MHS, a medical epidemiologist at CDC. 

Dr. Armstrong is the Epidemiology Team Lead for the Rickettsial Zoonoses Branch in CDC’s National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases. She is responsible for the surveillance, research, and prevention of spotted fever rickettsioses, anaplasmosis, ehrlichiosis, and Q fever.

Dr. Armstrong received her undergraduate degree and Masters in Health Sciences from Johns Hopkins University, completed her medical degree at the University of Connecticut, and her residency in emergency medicine at George Washington University. She subsequently completed the Epidemic Intelligence Service fellowship with the Mycotic Diseases Branch at CDC. As a medical officer with the United States Public Health Service, Dr. Armstrong has responded to various disease outbreaks in the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Panama.

In her current position, Dr. Armstrong focuses heavily on supporting states, tribal communities, and international partners in combating outbreaks of Rocky Mountain spotted fever, the highly fatal tickborne infection, and educates clinicians on how to reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with other rickettsial diseases. Dr. Armstrong is also the lead investigator for a novel condition, alpha-gal syndrome, an allergic reaction to meat associated with ticks. She is conducting the first epidemiologic studies to better understand risk factors for this condition and its public health implication in the United States.

Listen to Dr. Armstrong present during a recent COCA Call: A Leopard without Spots: Clinical Diagnosis and Treatment of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. Free CE is available.