Painless Licensing + Spring TBE – Spring 2025 Newsletter
Hello,
Painless: The Opioid Musical started as an idea to engage with students on the topic of opioid use after learning that almost 75% of high schoolers had access to unused opioids. Painless has been featured on The Today Show, seen by more than 2,400 students in Michigan, and streamed over 90,000 times.
We are thrilled to share that Painless: The Opioid Musical is now available for licensing. This no-cost license makes the production accessible to communities across the country.
As we prepare Painless to tour Michigan this spring, we are excited for others to have the chance to share this story too. Interested in bringing Painless to life in your community? Take a look at the licensing requirements on the page below.
Thank you for sharing in the excitement with us. Happy Spring!
Chad Brummett, MD
OPEN Executive Director
PAINLESS LICENSING AVAILABLE!
Painless is now available for licensing! This is a no cost license; the musical can be performed solely for non-commercial purposes.
Materials available under the license include:
- Sheet music
- Instrumental tracks
- Production instructions
- Marketing resources
- Educational tools
Painless: The Opioid Musical started as an idea by Dr. Chad Brummett, Co-Director of OPEN. After Dr. Brummett contacted former Chair of Musical Theatre Vincent J. Cardinal in 2018, students at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre, and Dance were invited to hear true stories of people in recovery and loved ones of people with substance use disorder from Face Addiction Now (formally Families Against Narcotics). These stories were translated into songs by undergraduate student Jacob Ryan Smith and formed Painless: The Opioid Musical.
SPRING 2025 TAKE BACK EVENT
The Spring 2025 DEA Take Back Day is coming up at the end of April. Are you interested in participating but not sure where to start? Explore our Medication Take Back Day program and learn how you get involved!
15% OFF LOCKING PILL VIALS
With Take Back Day approaching, Safe Rx is offering a 15% discount on locking prescription vial kits and retail cartons for our Michigan community. Reach out to Michelle DelGizzi at mdelgizzi@safe-rx.com to place an order or discuss a quote.
PAID INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY
We are seeking PRIMARY CARE PROVIDERS to participate in a virtual, expert-led interview to inform the development of resources and care strategies for patients with preoperative opioid use.
- Eligibility: primary care provider
- Interview: 45 minutes
- Incentive: $200
NEW RESOURCE: STIMULANTS +OVERAMPING
Learn about stimulants, safer use practices, and how to respond to overamping and other health complications.
Answer your questions:
- What are stimulants?
- What is overamping and what could it feel like?
- How is overamping prevented?
- What do I do and say in this situation?
IMPACT REPORTS
Explore OPEN’s annual impact through specific initiatives and collective portfolio.
OPEN 2024 Overall Impact Report
Learn about the wide impact OPEN has made through our initiatives in 2024.
OPEN 2020-2024 Overall Impact Report
Learn about OPEN’s impact across all of our initiatives since 2020.
UPCOMING EVENTS
For prescribers, all webinar credits qualify for the DEA required SUD training. FREE CME, MCBAP and Social Work CE credits.
Exploring Long-Acting Injectable Buprenorphine
March 17, 2025
@ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1.0 CME Credit
CME, MCBAP, SW
Presenters:
Greg Jones, MD
Mike Kates, DO
This webinar is designed to equip healthcare teams with essential information on FDA-approved monthly and weekly injectable buprenorphine formulations for the treatment of opioid use disorder, along with guidance on integrating them into clinical practice. Key topics will include the pharmacology, side effects, and storage of injectable buprenorphine, as well as the administration process, patient selection criteria, and dosage recommendations. The session will also cover the initiation and maintenance of treatment for patients using these injectable formulations, along with the workflows and administrative tasks involved in implementing injectable buprenorphine in healthcare settings.
Understanding Alcohol Use Disorder and Treatment Options
April 21, 2025
@ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1.0 CE Credit
MCBAP
CME, SW pending
Presenter:
Anne Fernandez, Ph.D.
Join us for an interactive webinar where we will provide an in-depth overview of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), including its definition and diagnostic criteria. Participants will learn about the prevalence of AUD within various populations, as well as how this has changed over time. The session will also focus on identifying at-risk demographic groups and understanding the associated health risks. Lastly, attendees will gain practical insights into best practices for screening and implementing brief interventions in both clinical and community health settings, aimed at addressing and managing AUD.
Introduction to Treating Patients with Buprenorphine for Primary Care Providers
May 16, 2025
@ 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
4.0 CME Credits
Presenters:
Jonathan Morrow, MD, Ph.D.
Sheba Sethi, MD
Primary Care Providers (Physicians and Advanced Practice Professionals) who attend this MOUD training are eligible to receive a $250 incentive.
Co-Occurring Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorder
May 28, 2025
@ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1.0 CE Credit
MCBAP
CME, SW pending
Presenter:
Elizabeth Hoffman, MD
Join our upcoming webinar to explore the complexities of co-occurring psychiatric disorders and substance use disorders (SUD). This session will cover recent research, practical treatment approaches, and strategies for improving patient care. Our expert speaker will share insights and real-world experiences to help deepen your understanding of these intertwined challenges.
Updated Guidelines for Hepatitis C in Patients with Substance Use Disorder
June 3, 2025
@ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1.0 CE Credit
MCBAP
CME, SW pending
Presenter:
Ponni Perumalswami, MD, MSCR
Join us for a webinar on the latest updates in hepatitis C (HCV) care for patients with substance use disorder (SUD). We will review new HCV guidelines, highlighting best practices for screening, diagnosis, and treatment in this population. The session will also explore strategies for improving access to care, addressing barriers, and integrating HCV management into substance use treatment.
Introduction to Treating Patients with Buprenorphine for Primary Care Providers
September 8, 2025
@ 9:00 am – 1:00 pm
4.0 CME Credits pending
Presenters:
Chris Frank, MD, Ph.D.
Eliza Hutchinson, MD
Primary Care Providers (Physicians and Advanced Practice Professionals) who attend this MOUD training are eligible to receive a $250 incentive.
Breaking the Barriers: Addressing Stigma in the Path to Recovery
September 17, 2025
@ 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
1.0 CE Credit
CME, MCBAP, SW pending
Presenter:
Alex Elswick, Ph.D.
Join our upcoming webinar to explore the different types of stigma and their impact on recovery from substance use disorders. Discover how stigma affects self-worth and access to care, and gain practical strategies to address and reduce stigma in clinical, community, and personal settings.
PUBLICATIONS THIS QUARTER
Access literature with OPEN’s publication portfolio. We use evidence to inform public health policy and practice recommendations.
Unintended Prolonged Opioid Use: A Case-Control Study
- JMIR Research Protocols, 2/25/2025
- Appropriate short-term use of prescription opioids in opioid-naïve patients is indicated in selected settings but can result in unintended prolonged opioid use (UPOU), defined as the continuation of opioid therapy beyond the period by which acute pain would have been expected to resolve.
- In this research project, three Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) programs (Mayo Clinic, University of Michigan, and Yale University) leveraged the conceptual framework for UPOU to investigate how the patient characteristics, practice environment characteristics, and opioid prescriber characteristics facilitate or impede UPOU.
- Following complete data analyses, it is anticipated that electronic health record systems will be leveraged to help clinicians identify at risk patients and to develop direct-to-patient educational materials to raise awareness of the risk factors for developing UPOU.
Building a Better Base for Keeping Buprenorphine on Board for Surgery (Editorial)
- Anesthesiology, 2/1/2025
- Hitt et al. examined the association between interruption of buprenorphine/naloxone in the perioperative period and average pain intensity scores or opioid utilization after surgery, hypothesizing that individuals with opioid use disorder undergoing procedures who continued buprenorphine within 36 hours of surgery would have similar or lower postoperative pain scores compared to those who did not receive buprenorphine during the same period.
- Rigorous evaluations of outcomes for surgical patients on buprenorphine and other medications for opioid use disorder based on therapy continuation and interruption are necessary to better inform the clinical approach to these patients.
- Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine, 1/31/2025
- Current evidence is lacking regarding the direct and indirect costs that are associated with healthcare utilization among individuals on preoperative opioid therapy.
- Merative MarketScan Commercial Database was linked for analysis with the Merative MarketScan Health and Productivity Management Database, including all adult patients admitted and discharged from common elective surgeries between January 1, 2018, and June 30, 2021.
- In this study, high preoperative opioid use was associated with increased healthcare utilization and costs following common elective surgery.
- JAMA Health Forum, 1/3/2025
- In a recent cluster randomized clinical trial (RCT), social norms–based feedback to surgeons prescribing postoperative opioids above guideline-recommended quantities showed significantly reduced guideline-discordant prescribing behavior during the intervention period.
- This cluster RCT was conducted among general, orthopedic, and obstetric and gynecologic surgical specialties at 19 hospitals in California between October 19, 2021, and October 18, 2022.
- This study shows that above-guideline prescribing of postsurgical opioids remained reduced 1 year after ceasing social norms–based feedback.
- The Clinical Journal of Pain, 1/1/2025
- Limited data exist regarding recovery from surgery from the adolescent’s perspective, or data regarding concordance between adolescent and caregiver symptom reports preventing appreciation of adolescent needs and hindering the provision of appropriate care.
- Interviews were conducted with 31 adolescent-caregiver pairs following a variety of outpatient elective surgeries about recovery symptoms.
- Adolescents may experience significant physical symptoms, such as pain and fatigue, even after minor surgeries.
POSITION OPENING
Administrative Specialist
We are seeking a dedicated Administrative Specialist to join our operations team. The ideal candidate will provide human resource support; facilitate the hiring, onboarding, offboarding, and timekeeping processes for our staff and research assistants. This candidate will also track all OPEN equipment, facilitate HITS/ITS service requests, and assist as a backup for our procurement processes. This role will require excellent communication and organization skills, team collaboration, and the ability to quickly learn and adapt in a fast-paced research environment.