Effective June 27, 2023, any DEA-registered practitioner must complete eight (8) hours of training on the treatment and management of patients with opioid or other substance use disorders.

In the new year alone, ketamine has already made headlines in dozens of articles highlighting its increased off-label use. There has been a significant increase in exposure and interest for this old drug that seemingly has new tricks up its sleeve.

In response to the growing public health and safety crisis associated with prescription drug abuse, California lawmakers have introduced a series of legislative bills creating a set of rules and practices to help curb prescription drug abuse and increase controls over the prescribing process itself. 

Most physicians would likely not be surprised that many American homes have an accumulation of unused, unwanted, or expired medications. But did you ever consider the potential safety hazards these surplus medications present?

Physicians may be forgiven for a feeling of whiplash after emerging from an era of pain-medication permissiveness to today’s opioid vigilance. Nevertheless, practitioners must always be alert to the warning signs of a patient who is abusing the trust of the physician- patient relationship.