Talking pain: Opioid options and alternatives
Each year 250,000 Australians are admitted to hospital because of problems related to their medicines – the healthcare costs associated with these hospital admissions are $1.4 billion annually.
PSA and SHPA are committed to supporting more informed and transparent conversations that ensure safer medicines use for all Australians experiencing pain, enabled by recent regulatory changes aimed at reversing the rising risk of opioid harm in the Australian community.
Talking pain: Opioid options and alternatives includes four online learning modules, providing tailored advice to pharmacists on increasing awareness and understanding of appropriate opioid use, alternative treatments for pain, and how to effectively communicate with patients and consumers experiencing pain:
- Module 1: Understand the appropriate treatment for pain
- Module 2: Raising awareness of appropriate opioid use
- Module 3: Improve understanding of alternative treatments to managing pain
- Module 4: Appropriate communication for people with pain
Open Talking pain: Opioid options and alternatives modules →
All modules are free to PSA/SHPA members. Each module has been accredited for 1 hour of Group-2 CPD, with a final case scenario accredited for an additional 0.5 hours of Group-2 CPD (a total of 9 CPD credits), suitable for inclusion in an individual pharmacist’s CPD plan.
The modules are part of a broader education program supported by the Therapeutic Goods Administration in the Department of Health, which includes the distribution of new opioid Cautionary and Advisory Labels (CAL) and supporting information to every community pharmacy and public and private hospital in the country.