Berkshire Health Systems Uses Screening Tools to Better Assess and Respond to Patient Complaints of Chronic Pain and Identify Those Occasional Patients Who May Abuse or Divert Opioid Medications
Clinician resource manual includes Inflexxion's Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (SOAPP®).
Newton, MA (PRWEB) June 25, 2009 -- Inflexxion, Inc. is pleased to announce that Berkshire Health Systems has chosen to include Inflexxion's clinical practice tools in a Pain Care Resource Manual designed to help practitioners in Berkshire County, Massachusetts increase the quality of pain care services while combating pain medication misuse and diversion.
Berkshire Health Systems developed the manual as part of the Berkshire Community Pain Management Project, a pioneering initiative that has drawn recognition for its efforts to improve pain care management and address potential abusers or diverters of pain medication.
"This project has a number components, including the publication of a toolkit for all Berkshire County prescribers, whether or not they are associated with Berkshire Health Systems," explains Alex N. Sabo, M.D., co-chair of the project and Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health. "The Pain Care Resource Manual is designed to serve as a clinical toolbox, providing best practices guidelines for the assessment and treatment of the chronic pain patient, resources to assist in the proper management of those patients, and guidance for responding to situations of suspected misuse or diversion of pain medication."
The Pain Care Resource Manual is distributed to clinicians through the Berkshire Health Systems intranet, with hard copies available to outside providers, and offers advice, comprehensive information, and tools for navigating along the continuum of treatment for patients with chronic pain.
These tools include the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (SOAPP), developed by Inflexxion. The SOAPP is a brief paper-and-pencil self-report tool that enables clinicians to assess the risk of addiction in patients prior to initiating opioid therapy. The Pain Care Resource Manual includes both the SOAPP Version 1 and the SOAPP Version 1-Short Form.
The utility of the SOAPP was recently highlighted in a set of evidence-based clinical guidelines for the use of opioids in treating chronic non-cancer pain, developed jointly by the American Pain Society and the American Academy of Pain Medicine and published in the February 2009 issue of The Journal of Pain (Volume 10, Number 2).
The SOAPP is also included in Clinical Guidelines on Prescribing Opioids for the Treatment of Pain developed State of Utah Department of Health, which recently announced a 12.6 percent drop in accidental prescription pain medication deaths following the launch of a multifaceted, state-wide initiative to reduce such deaths.
"Clinicians can play a vital role in preventing misuse or diversion of opioid medications, but they need ready access the right tools and resources," says Kevin Zacharoff, M.D., Director of Medical Affairs at Inflexxion. "Inflexxion's mission is to leverage technology to improve public health, and we applaud Berkshire Health Systems for making these tools available to clinicians throughout Berkshire County, empowering them to make a difference on a broad scale."
In addition to the SOAPP, Berkshire Health Systems has included the complementary Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM)TM in the Pain Care Resource Manual. Also developed by Inflexxion, the COMM is a tool for identifying whether a patient, currently on long-term opioid therapy, may be exhibiting aberrant behaviors associated with misuse or abuse of opioid medications. Since the COMM examines concurrent misuse, it is ideal for helping clinicians monitor patients' aberrant medication-related behaviors over the course of treatment.
Both the SOAPP and COMM are also available directly to clinicians who visit and register at PainEDU.org, Inflexxion's award-winning educational website for health care professionals who prescribe pain medications.
About Inflexxion
Founded in 1989, Inflexxion leverages technology to improve public health. We create clinically validated tools and programs for critical areas of health care, including prevention and wellness education, addiction and pain treatment, and pharmaceutical risk management. These innovative solutions help reduce health-related risks, enhance clinical outcomes, and positively impact the quality of care.
About Berkshire Health Systems
Berkshire Health Systems is the leading provider of comprehensive health care services in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. With award-winning programs, nationally-recognized physicians, world-class technology, and a sincere commitment to the community, BHS is delivering the kind of advanced health care most commonly found in large metropolitan centers.
A private, not-for-profit organization, BHS serves the region through a network of affiliates which include a teaching hospital--Berkshire Medical Center, a critical access hospital-- Fairview Hospital, a 120 physician multispecialty group--Berkshire Faculty Services, Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association, and long-term care associate Berkshire Healthcare Systems. Each of these institutional providers is distinguished by the high quality of their programs and services, and by the credentials, skill, and compassion of their physicians, nurses, and caregivers.
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