Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists applaud OPEN’s anesthesiologists for approaches to curb opioid use, manage pain, keep patients safe – Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Ahead of National Opioid Awareness Day on Sept. 21, the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists is applauding the Overdose Prevention Engagement Network (OPEN) for their great work to share new evidence-based Opioid Prescribing Recommendations with clinicians across the state. Anesthesiologists with OPEN are leading the way to share innovative methods to better treat pain, reduce the use of opioids and keep patients safe.
“It’s critical for us to get the word out about our evidence-based prescribing recommendations so that clinicians have the tools to decrease opioid prescriptions without compromising pain relief, said Mark Bicket, MD, PhD, FASA, OPEN executive clinical director. “OPEN has created care pathways for more than 70 procedures. We are constantly working to create guidelines for more complex issues, specifically for people at risk for opioid disorder and those who experience opioid tolerance.”
In 2023, 2,826 Michiganders died of opioid overdoses, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. If improperly prescribed and unmonitored, opioid prescriptions after surgery can be a gateway to substance misuse.
OPEN strives to educate patients and healthcare providers on how to effectively manage postsurgical pain. The organization maintains a library of provider and patient pain management education along with Opioid Prescribing Recommendations. These procedure-specific recommendations are developed through data analysis using patient reported outcomes, literature review and expert consensus and updated as new evidence is published.
As a result, surgeons and other clinicians are prescribing fewer opioids thanks to the work of the Michigan anesthesiology community.
In addition, OPEN has distributed more than 5,000 naloxone kits across the state to help stop fentanyl overdoses. They have 44 emergency department partners, two vending machines and 13 distribution boxes to help distribute the kits. OPEN Naloxone programming has reached 29 Michigan counties, including eight high impact counties (HIC), which were identified using evidence-based health and resource indicators. More than half of survey respondents indicated they would NOT have access to naloxone without OPEN’s vending machines.
“Anesthesiologists, like me and my colleagues at OPEN, do so much more than just putting patients to sleep under anesthesia in the operating room,” said Bicket. “Anesthesiologists have the expertise to use data to develop proven solutions, work to implement them and support providers to enact protocols based on the most up-to-date information available. At OPEN, we are committed to providing accessible resources to those at the forefront of the substance misuse crisis.”
Originally published September 20th by the Michigan Society of Anesthesiologists