Webcast
Event Title
What Can Data Tell Us About the Opioid Crisis?
September 25, 2018
- Date:
- September 25, 2018
- Time:
-
8:00 PM - 8:00 PM ET
Yale University-Mayo Clinic CERSI
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
Presented by:
William C. Becker, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine,
Yale University School of Medicine &
Co-Director, Integrated Pain Clinic &
Opioid Reassessment Clinic
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
About the Presentation
The Opioid Crisis – the marked upsurge in opioid use disorder and non-fatal and fatal overdose – is the dominant public health problem of the early 21st century in the US. Dr. Becker explored the roots of the crisis, and highlighted and interpreted observational and experimental data on both harms and benefits of long-term opioid therapy for pain. He briefly reviewed the clinical and research challenges in de-implementing risky opioid therapy. Finally, he presented emerging strategies – and their evidence – for a multi-pronged approach to mitigating the crisis.
About the Presenter
William C. Becker, MD is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. He is a general internist with training in addiction medicine and pain management. He co-directs the Integrated Pain Clinic and Opioid Reassessment Clinic at VA Connecticut Healthcare System and co-chairs Yale School of Medicine’s Pain Curriculum Committee.
Dr. Becker’s VA, NIH, FDA and PCORI-funded clinical research uses observational and experimental methods to examine and improve the quality of chronic pain treatment in primary care, particularly at the interface between high impact chronic pain and opioid use disorder. Increasingly, his work focuses on de-implementing high-dose, long-term opioid therapy and improving patient’s access to and use of non-pharmacologic pain treatments.