Philadelphia Dentist Taking a Major Initiative to Train and Educate Healthcare Professionals to Address the Prescription Problem of Abuse and Drug Addiction

Philadelphia, PA, October 17, 2018 --(PR.com)-- With opioid abuse reaching epidemic proportions, Dr. Mansoor Madani, director of Bala Institute of Oral Surgery, is educating doctors, healthcare professional and prescribers on this national crisis. “For change to happen, it needs to start with the prescribers,” says Dr. Mansoor Madani, who has been giving continuing education courses to dental and medical professionals for the past twenty years.

It is estimated that over 115 people die in the U.S. from opioid overdose and the number is increasing. In 2017, over 72,000 died from drug overdose in the U.S. more than car crashes, breast cancer and gun violence. In 2017, 5,443 people died of drug overdose in Pennsylvania, that's 15 individuals each day. From 2000 to 2017, more than half a million people died from drug overdose. 250 million prescriptions are written every year for opioids, that is one bottle of opioids for every adult in the U.S. 75% of opioid addiction starts with patients receiving prescriptions from their doctors. “With some exceptions, most healthcare providers have received minimal training in how to recognize substance abuse in their patients,” according to Dr. Mansoor Madani. “Most medical and dental schools do not provide in-depth training on substance abuse; often, substance abuse education is limited to classroom or clinical electives,” adds Madani. After graduation, most of these professionals receive very limited training on treating pain.

Until now, most doctors receiving their DEA licenses were not required to have additional training on a regular basis. “As prescribers, we all have a role to play in reducing prescrip­tion drug misuse and abuse. This requires continuing education and training on how to manage pain, when it is appropriate to give narcotics, how much and how often,” says Dr. Madani, who is also an associate professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at Temple University in Philadelphia and has organized and taught multiple comprehensive continuing education state mandatory training courses in “pain management and drug addiction.” A crucial step in tackling the problem of prescription drug abuse is to raise awareness through the education of parents, youth, patients and healthcare providers.

“We are taking a major initiative to review the history of opioid treatment and the problem of prescription abuse and drug addiction. We hope to have a meaningful impact on educating healthcare professionals of this unfortunate epidemic that kills almost 4 individual every hour in the U.S.,” says Madani. He will present a comprehensive state mandatory course at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on October 20, 2018 (8:00 AM-12:30 PM) on Pain Management, Drug Addiction and Practice of Prescribing and Dispensing Opioids. If you would like to speak to Dr. Madani about this in more detail – especially about the lack of education the doctors are receiving on this crisis, there is an abundant amount of feedback he can provide. Bala Institute of Oral Surgery invites you to join. They have over 300 healthcare professionals registered for this course. More details can be found on the website: www.balasurgery.com.

Note: Act 124, effective January 1, 2017 - Pennsylvania licensing boards require dispensers and prescribers who are applying for the renewal of a license to complete at least two hours of continuing education in pain management, identification of addiction or the practice of prescribing or dispensing opioids.