Overview
Altarum has designed a 10-credit hour, four-month continuing education and quality improvement program for dental practices on responsible opioid prescribing. We are currently piloting the training with providers through funding from the Michigan Opioid Prescribing Engagement Network, a collaboration of the state of Michigan, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and the University of Michigan.
Our Approach
During the program, dentists and dental clinicians learn about dentistry’s role in the opioid crisis, how to apply opioid prescribing recommendations (such as American Dental Association guidelines), how to use the Michigan Automated Prescription System to identify individuals with potential risk for misuse, and how to educate patients on the safe use of opioids.
Results
One goal of the program is to ensure that 75 percent of all patients prescribed opioids will receive pain management counseling and a follow-up phone call from their provider to identify the number of opioid pills the patient has used, and their level of pain. Based on our initial training, we have found that only a small percentage of dentists are providing pain management counseling, performing follow-up counseling, or accessing the prescription drug monitoring system when they prescribe opioids. All of this underscores the important role of responsible opioid prescribing training in ending the opioid crisis.
Contact Us
Carley Kirk - MS
Deputy Director, Population Health
Areas of Expertise- Maternal and Child Health
- Clinical Quality Improvement
- Public Health IT Solutions
Carley Kirk has 15 years of experience managing large quality improvement initiatives focused on maternal and child health, including a CMS-funded program in Michigan that resulted in one million low-income children receiving access to preventive oral health services. She specializes in advancing population health through programmatic and technology implementation, policy development, and leading health care demonstrations of innovative approaches that advance care. Carley holds a master’s degree in health education from the University of Michigan and serves as a board member for the Michigan Oral Health Coalition.