Opioid Abuse: Diagnosis, Culture, and Treatment (NA1870_O)

Course Format

This course is online. All course material is available online and is accessible immediately after purchase from your account homepage. Certificate of Completion is available immediately upon passing the exam.

Course Overview

This course is a wide ranging presentation of opioid abuse, the current opioid epidemic, the history of opioids, and measures being taken to combat the problem. We will present the history of pain management and the beginning of the opioid epidemic in the United States. We will review the history of the crisis, current statistics, and efforts being taken to prevent the spread of abuse. We will highlight new recommendations from the Center of Disease Control (CDC) for prescribing opioids and thoughts on managing chronic pain rather than using opioid medications. With the increase in the abuse of heroin and fentanyl, there has been a marked increase in the overdose death rate. In this course we will provide an overdose toolkit for medical professionals as well as community members.

Course Objectives

1. List the causes of the opioid epidemic and overdose problem


2. Explain the effect that opioids have on the brain and the possibility of abuse


3. Discuss the current statistics concerning the abuse of opioids and the increasing death rate due to overdose


4. List the options for treatment of opioid use disorder and prevention options


5. State the cultural difficulties making the opioid epidemic worse


6. Demonstrate the effect of the opioid epidemic on workers' compensation


7. Discuss the "other" opioid epidemic for those with chronic pain

Course Outline