Speaker Information

Adams L. Sibley, PhD, MPH

Senior Research Scientist

UNC Injury Prevention Research Center

Learning Objectives: 

• Understand the role of drug checking in the harm reduction toolkit.
• Identify key trends and emerging substances in national and local drug markets.
• Describe how fentanyl's harms have evolved during the course of the overdose epidemic.
• Apply knowledge of the changing drug supply to patient counseling, overdose prevention, and harm reduction activities in pharmacy practice.

Description: 

North Carolina's drug supply is changing rapidly, creating new challenges for overdose prevention, patient counseling, and harm reduction. Drawing on data from the UNC Street Drug Analysis Lab, this presentation will explore the state's unregulated drug supply, from xylazine and medetomidine to emerging psychoactive substances. The session will examine drug market trends, how people and communities are adapting to a changing supply, and what pharmacists need to know to better support their patients.

CreditsAccredited for Pharmacists and Technicians:
1.0 Hour of ACPE Continuing Education

Speaker Information

Olivia Caron, PharmD, BCACP, CPP, FNCAP

PGY2 Am Care RPD; Adjunct Assistant Professor; Clinical Assistant Professor

MAHEC Dept. of Pharmacy; UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy; UNC School of Medicine

Learning Objectives: 

• Describe the role of buprenorphine in managing chronic pain for patients with SUDs, including recommendations to continue medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during pain treatment.
• Explain dosing strategies and differentiate therapeutic use for buprenorphine when used for analgesia for patients without SUDs.
• Apply safety and monitoring practices to support patients with their pain management.

Description: 

Buprenorphine is an important but underutilized tool for pain management in patients both with and without substance use disorders (SUDS). Untreated chronic pain can impact non prescribed opioid use, treatment retention, and overdose. This session reviews how buprenorphine can be used therapeutically for pain in patients with and without opioid use disorder (OUD) and outlines evidence supported strategies for using buprenorphine formulations to manage pain. Emphasis is placed on dosing approaches, formulation selection, safety considerations, and integration into multimodal pain care.

Details
Date:Sunday, November 1
Time: 6:00 - 7:00PM

CreditsAccredited for Pharmacists and Technicians:
1.0 Hour of ACPE Continuing Education