The Joint Commission and the FDA take steps to curb adverse eventsrelated to the use and misuse of opioid drugs

摘要

Noting that opioid analgesics are among the drugs most often associated with adverse drug events, the Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Alert, urging hospitals to step up their efforts to prevent complications and deaths from use of these powerful drugs. At the same time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an opioid safety plan that requires the manufacturers of extended-release and long-acting opioids to fund continuing education programs for physicians and others who prescribe these drugs. The training sessions, which are scheduled to begin in March of 2013, will be voluntary, but the FDA estimates that within three years of implementing the education program, at least 60% of the 32,000 health professionals who prescribe the drugs will have received the opioid training.