In the last decade, health systems across the United States have become increasingly aware of the need to manage pain without relying solely on opioids. Adventist Health, in the western U.S., has made concerted efforts to shift to a more wholistic approach to pain management.

Over the last several years, the Opioid Stewardship Committee has assessed best practices, guidelines, national trends, and opioid prescribing at Adventist Health. In response, Adventist Health has developed programs that support opioid safety and a more comprehensive approach to pain management. In 2018, Adventist Health adopted an Opioid Care Transformation Project that used data to analyze prescribing patterns and monitor quality measures.

In 2023, Adventist Health has partnered with CO*RE REMS, a national grant-funded program that brings opioid education and training to medical providers. This partnership builds upon Adventist Health’s goals to keep patients as safe as possible while providing the pain management they need.

Training Safe Prescribers

CO*RE was founded by ten professional healthcare organizations, including the California Academy of Family Physicians (CAFP). The organization provides continuing education to physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and other healthcare professionals across the country.

Through its partnership with CO*RE REMS, Adventist Health has identified opioid steward champions throughout its system. These professionals have undergone certification to train other clinicians in the CO*RE REMS safe prescribing curriculum. These champions will deliver trainings in person and through recorded sessions that all clinicians across the organization will attend.

“Not only will this training help clinicians with best practices in pain management, but it will also help us maintain compliance with our medical boards,” said Raul Ayala, family medicine physician and current president of CAFP. “Every clinician is expected to have eight hours of opioid training on safe prescribing. After training, all Adventist Health medical providers will be certified as safe prescribers.”

Wholistic Pain Management

The CO*RE REMS curriculum helps clinicians understand the physiology of pain and offers multiple pain management methods, including both medication-based and non-medication-based strategies. The comprehensive program also helps providers understand how to recognize substance use disorders and how to help patients.

“When patients think about pain, they often only think about pain medication,” Ayala said. “But making a proper assessment and a wholistic treatment plan opens up a range of other options. Strategies like physical therapy, occupational therapy, strength training, ... optimizing your nutrition, massage, or even water therapy can be effective.” Properly diagnosing and managing other underlying health conditions, including mental health, is also important.

“If you deal with chronic pain or have been prescribed an opioid, talk with your provider about other treatment options,” Adventist Health practitioners said. “There may be alternatives that can bring effective pain relief.”

The original version of this story was posted on the Adventist Health news site.