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Conquering Opioid Abuse Focus of August 24 Forum

With the second highest rate of opioid drug abuse in the nation, Oregon has made national headlines
July 12, 2016

With the second highest rate of opioid drug abuse in the nation, Oregon has made national headlines – something everyone involved in healthcare is well aware of. What’s being done to stem this tide? How can practitioners and policymakers get a handle on this epidemic?

That’s the topic of an Aug. 24 breakfast forum sponsored by Oregon Health Forum in collaboration with the National University of Natural Medicine. The event gets underway at 7 a.m. NCNM’s Radelet Hall, located at 2719 SW Kelly in Portland. Free street and campus parking will be available.

Here are just a few of the questions our panel of experts will discuss:

  • What place should opioids play in chronic pain management?
  • Considering the risk of tolerance and dependence, as well as what we’ve seen in this epidemic, when patients’ medications are withheld and they turn to heroin, how are the treatments for opioid addiction and chronic pain related? (
  • What policy changes have we seen to date and what can we expect to see happening in the near future?
  • What assessments and evidence-based interventions need to be incorporated into the current healthcare delivery systems to improve patient outcomes with respect to chronic pain?
  • When we talk about opioid epidemic, it’s often considered the patient’s fault that they are addicted. What does the biopsychosocial model of care have to say about this and who is responsible for changing the prevailing attitude?

You’ll hear from:

  • Dr. Katrina Hedberg, MD, MPH, Health Officer & State Epidemiologist, State of Oregon
  • Dr. Paul Lewis, MD, MPH, Metro Portland Health Officer,
  • John Muench, MD, MPH, Director of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University
  • Krista Nelson, MSW LCSW OSW-C, Providence Cancer Center
  • Dr. Andrew Suchocki, MD, Medical Director for Clackamas FQHC
  • Dr. Kevin Wilson, ND, Private Practice Hillsboro and faculty at NUNM,

Our moderator will be Dr. Regina Dehen, ND. LAc., CMO and Dean of Clinics, NUNM

If your organization would like to co-sponsor this event or has ideas for future events, please contact Diane Lund-Muzikant, executive director.

Oregon Health Forum is the educational arm of The Lund Report and collaborates with other nonprofit organizations to sponsor its monthly breakfast forums.

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