The Illinois State Medical Society is committed to promoting safe and appropriate opioid prescribing for treating chronic pain. Below are resources that have been compiled to assist prescribers, patients and policymakers. Together we must work to reduce opioids misuse, abuse and overdose.

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ISMS Resources

• Download the ISMS Take-Back Promotion Kit for Your Office
• ISMS Office Poster Promoting Naloxone Availability Without Prescription
• Combating Prescription Drug Misuse and Abuse: Physician and Patient Roles and Responsibilities for Disposal of Unused Medications - Issue Brief: updated September 2020
• Case Study: Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program

ISMS CME Courses

• Establishing a Buprenorphine Practice: What you need to know
• Identification of Patients With Substance Use Disorder In the Primary Care Setting
• Opioid Prescribing: Safe Practice, Changing Lives
• Opioids: Best Practices, Overdose Risk Factors, and Naloxone Co-Prescribing
• The Prescription Monitoring Program in Illinois: A Clinical Tool in Improving Prescribing Decisions

For Patients

AMA Video: How to Use Naloxone
Opioid Addiction and Overdose Resources for Patients and Their Loved Ones

Providers' Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies (PCSS-O) Materials

The PCSS-O is a collaborative education initiative with backing from the American Medical Association and other national organizations. The PCSS-O offers free opioid courses and CME opportunities for prescribers.

• Recommendations to Consider Before Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
• Learning Modules: Treating Opioid Addiction
• Community Opioid Resources
• Prescription Drug Overdose in the United States: Fact Sheet
  
• PCSS-O Website

Providers' Clinical Support System for Medication Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT)

The Providers' Clinical Support System for Medication Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT), a national training and mentoring project that formed in response to the prescription opioid misuse epidemic.  

• PCSS-O Phone App: Safe Opioid Prescribing

Illinois Prescription Monitoring Program

The PMP is an electronic tool that collects information on controlled substance prescriptions. Prescribers are allowed to obtain a user ID and password to query their current or prospective patients.

• Access the Prescription Monitoring Program Site
• Learn how your EHR can integrate with the PMP

Policies and Guidelines

Several national medical groups offer guidelines, resources and prescribing guidance to assist physicians and other prescribers.

• American Academy of Family Physicians Formal Position
• American Academy of Pain Management Opioid Treatment Guideline
• American College of Physicians Policy Position
• American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians Guideline for Responsible Opioid Prescribing
• CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
• Department of Agriculture's Rural Community Action Guide
• Federation of State Medical Boards Model Opioids Treatment Policy
• Opioid prescribing: a systematic review and critical appraisal of guidelines for chronic pain. (Medline)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Resources

The CDC offers information on opioid use, misuse and safety.

• Prescription Drug Overdose in the United States: Fact Sheet
  
• Opioid Painkiller Prescribing: Where You Live Makes a Difference

Disposing of Unused Medications

Patients should dispose of unused medications once treatment has ended to ensure the pills do not fall into the hands of someone for whom they were not prescribed.

Many local police departments maintain medication drop-off boxes, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency offers an interactive map for finding a medication drop-off site near you.

• Safe Prescription Drug Disposal Resources
• Prescription Medication Disposal Site Map
• Want to dispose of drugs properly? Here's how.
  

Policies and Guidelines

• A DEA agent explains how to fight the opioid crisis and mitigate DEA risk
• 10 ways to stay out of the DEA's crosshairs