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Polish MIDDLETOWN, Conn., February 28, 2018: The Weitzman Institute at Community Health Center, Inc. is partnering with the SAMHSA-HRSA Center for Integrated Health Solutions (CIHS) to bring a new, no cost opportunity for HRSA-funded health centers to participate in a Pain Management Project ECHO (Extension for Community Health Outcomes) learning community.
The learning community will assist health centers across the country that are integrating behavioral health services with evidence-based prescribing guidelines and non-pharmacological approaches for pain management. Participating organizations will engage in interactive ECHO learning sessions, which include a brief lecture from the faculty and case presentations from the participating providers. Sessions will be twice monthly for six months beginning in March.
“Primary care providers are faced with the enormous challenge of providing patient centered care for chronic pain patients,” said Agi Erickson, project director for Weitzman ECHO. “The Weitzman Institute supports providers and their care teams with tools and strategies to safely and effectively manage pain, build skills and confidence to provide guideline informed care and encourages alternative approaches to pain management.”
Prescription painkiller abuse is one of the leading contributors to the devastating opioid epidemic. In 2012, medical providers wrote 259 million painkiller prescriptions, enough to give a bottle of pills to every American adult.
“We are pleased to be partnering with the SAMHSA-HRSA CIHS,” said Erickson, “and we look forward to working with the health centers to create safer options for patients in pain.”