Scope
Any UAB Medicine clinical facility as defined in the medical staff bylaws
Mission
Provide safe, effective, and patient-centered pain management at UAB Medicine
Vision
Create an organizational infrastructure that advocates for safe opioid prescribing while sustaining safe, effective, patient-centered pain management throughout UAB Medicine through engagement and education of patients, clinicians, and administrators
Goals
- Create an opioid data infrastructure to drive change through data transparency and to measure the impact
- Use a systematic approach to develop and implement best practices, guidelines, policies, and care processes related to opioid prescribing and pain management
- Educate staff and patients on pain management and pain expectations, as well as safe opioid prescribing, storage, and disposal
- Educate staff and patient on pain management, pain expectations, and safe opioid prescribing, storage and disposal
- Appropriately reduce the oversupply of opioid prescriptions
In January 2019, UAB Health System leadership supported the establishment of the first formalized Opioid Stewardship Program at UAB Medicine to support and advocate for patient-centered, effective, and safe pain management and opioid prescribing practices. The Opioid Stewardship Committee is an interdisciplinary team with representation from across UAB Medicine.
“The opioid crisis has had a significant detrimental impact on our community,” says Juhan Paiste, MD, MBA, CPE, chair of the Opioid Stewardship Committee. “With the Opioid Stewardship Program, we hope to not only address the complex issues and pain management needs that our patients have, but also to ensure that our providers have access to the most innovative, efficient, and evidence-based safe practice guidelines. We know that once we have our resources and best practices in place, we can make a positive difference for everyone.”
For more information, email opioidstewardship@uabmc.edu.