On-Demand
Pain Management/Pharmacology CME
$147
Can medical cannabis and opioids complement or challenge each other in modern pain care? How do you manage acute and chronic pain in primary care? These topics, and many others, will be explored during this Pain Management CME course.
CME On-Demand Courses Include
Pain Management, Pharmacology & Prescribing – 2024 Package
Keep up-to-date on the latest in acute and chronic pain management and use of treatment options for the management of GI, infectious diseases, and respiratory conditions in this fast-paced CME course.
CME Courses by Jeremy A. Adler, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA
Chronic Pain Conditions – A Deeper Dive Into the Usual Suspects (Rx=0.25)
Millions of American experience chronic pain, and over 4% of the population reports having high-impact chronic pain. Chronic pain is a common complaint and has considerable comorbidities, sequelae, and costs. This session will review some of the more common chronic pain conditions, including a review of symptoms, signs, and supportive diagnostic information. Some conditions to be covered include chronic low back pain, neck pain, joint pain, and neuropathies. Attendees will enhance their confidence in diagnosis, which, with a patient-specific treatment plan, will improve treatment outcomes.
Pain Pathophysiology Part 1 – Bridging the Mechanism of
Action of Non-opioid Medications (Rx=0.25)
Without a single therapeutic option achieving complete efficacy and safety for those experiencing chronic pain, clinicians are presented with a significant diversity of pharmacologic options to consider. Treatment guidelines have consistently put forward strong recommendations to leverage the analgesic properties of non-opioid medications, but how does one decide between a calcium channel modulator, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, or a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory? Attendees of this session will explore the basic neuroanatomy and physiology of nociception, focusing on the mechanism of action of non-opioid medications. By connecting the pharmacologic site of action to a patient’s underlying pain condition, a more rational approach will occur in selecting non-opioid medications.
Pain Pathophysiology Part 2 – Bridging the Mechanism of Action
of Opioid Medications (Rx=0.25)
With the isolation of a specific opiate from opium in 1805, the foundation of modern opioid pharmaceuticals was set. Globally, opioids remain important medications, with their position secured on the World Health Organization’s list of essential medicines. Since their initial discovery, a number of opioids have been formulated. The obvious question is, “Are all opioids the same?” This session will review the underlying neuroanatomy and physiology specific to opioids. Building upon the mechanism of action of opioids, specific effects of pharmacogenetics, metabolism-based drug interactions, and opioid receptor binding actions will be uncovered. Individual opioids, especially synthetic opioids, will challenge the concept that all opioids are equivalent.
Aberrant Behaviors & Patient Monitoring (Rx=0.50)
Despite advances in non-pharmacologic treatments and non-opioid medications for patients with chronic pain, many patients have inadequately managed pain and may be appropriate candidates for opioid therapy. For these patients, careful monitoring is essential and clinical guidelines support using tools such as urine drug monitoring and prescription drug monitoring program data. Like every medical test, these tools have specificities and sensitivities that may yield results that are either consistent or inconsistent with the clinical impressions. This session will examine the various laboratory technologies of drug monitoring, including screening and definitive testing. Connections will be drawn between the laboratory results and unexpected and expected findings from individual opioids, including the impact of pharmacogenetics, drug interactions, and manufacturing impurities. Other monitoring tools, including prescription drug monitoring programs, will be discussed. Finally, attendees will have the opportunity to apply the content to a review of actual case studies of patient aberrant behaviors. Some circumstances are what they seem, and some are not.
Innovations in Interventional Pain Management
Although pharmacologic treatments remain a common component of managing pain, significant advances in interventional pain management have reached a point where patients may successfully reduce medications or may not require them at all. This session will review some of the longstanding approaches, such as epidural steroids and radiofrequency neurotomies, but also increase awareness of understanding of interventional treatment options for joint pain of the knee, hip, and shoulder as well as advances in minimally invasive pain, reliving surgical treatments within the scope of pain management. Attendees will also be introduced to the innovative advances in neuromodulation and targeted intrathecal drug delivery.
Pain Management, Pharmacology & Prescribing – 2025 Package
From opioids to medical cannabis to hypnosis, this Pain Management CME course provides you with the pain management tools and insight you need to help your patients.
CME Courses by Heather (Hez) Naylor, PhD, FNP-BC, AP-PMN, FAIPM
Let’s Be Blunt: Can Cannabis and Opioids Play Nice in Pain Management? (Rx=0.75)
Let’s explore how medical cannabis and opioids can complement or challenge each other in modern pain care. We’ll examine pharmacology, efficacy, and practical strategies for integrating these therapies while ensuring patient safety and regulatory compliance.
Acute Pain Management in Ambulatory Adults & Marginalized Populations (Rx=0.75)
This session explores general principles and safety considerations for acute pain management of opioid-naïve adults. It will also review pain care for marginalized populations, and recognition and management of undertreatment and bias.
The Pain Management Playbook: Five Essential Tips for Primary Care Providers (Rx=0.50)
Learn five key strategies to master pain management in primary care. This session offers practical tips for comprehensive pain assessment, safe prescribing, prioritizing non-pharmacologic approaches, setting functional goals, and managing referrals effectively.
All About Opioids: Selection, Rotation, Tapering, and Review (Rx=1.50)
This session discusses appropriate patient selection, medication choice and dosing based on pain severity and patient comorbidities, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of pure agonist and mixed agonist-antagonist opioids. It also reviews opioid rotation, optimizing analgesia, management of side effects, risk assessments, opioid tapering, naloxone, and key patient education. Case studies will be shared.
Pain and the Power of Suggestion
Hypnosis and pain management – what does the research say, how do you communicate with direct and indirect suggestions, and placebo and nocebo influence in conversations with patients. Learn about response expectancies and practical implementation of suggestions in clinical practice for therapeutic benefit.