As deaths from opioid overdose and admissions to treatment facilities for opioid addiction increase , policymakers, researchers, and expert clinical societies agree that improved education on safe and appropriate opioid prescribing is a major priority. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has heard these calls. Its response includes mandating that pharmaceutical manufacturers develop risk evaluation and management strategies (REMS) for all extended-release and long-acting opioids, including a provision whereby industry will be required to establish goals for the number of prescribers trained and periodically report on reaching those goals. The REMS were also a focal point of a White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s call to action, in which it sought to “require drug manufacturers to develop effective educational materials and initiatives to train practitioners on the appropriate use of opioid pain relievers”.
