Prescribe with Care – A GDA Initiative
GDA is Working to be Part of the Solution to the Opioid Crisis
What is the Georgia Dental Association doing to address the opioid crisis?
- GDA is actively engaged in addressing the opioid abuse problem in Georgia
- The GDA Prescribe with Care initiative was introduced in 2018 to help fight opioid abuse
- Components of the program include education, collaboration and administrative rule making
The GDA Prescribe with Care initiative focuses on:
Education
- Presented statewide continuing education course for dentists on Georgia's new opioid prescriber requirements, which went into effect January 1, 2018
- Established a continuing education course on safe and effective opioid prescribing for dental pain with multiple formats
- Continuing to educate member dentists on opioid prescribing through webinars, articles in GDA Action magazine and other communications
- Making educational resources available to dental patients and the public
- Informing GDA members about the ADA’s Policy on Opioid Prescribing which lays out newrecommendations, rules and guidelines for dentists in Georgia and across the country
- Providing resources for our members to use in conjunction with safe prescribing
- Endorsing the ADA’s Statement on the Use of Opioids in the Treatment of Dental Pain
Collaboration
- Collaborating with healthcare professionals, policy makers and the public by serving on opioid task forces
- Attorney General Chris Carr's Statewide Opioid Task Force
- Medical Association of Georgia's Opioid Task Force
- Department of Public Health’s PDMP Working Group
- Partnering with the Georgia Department of Public Health to monitor Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) registration numbers and assisting our members to register and use the PDMP
- Working with the Georgia Board of Dentistry to increase awareness of registration requirements among all Georgia licensed dentists
Administrative Rule Making
- Worked in conjunction with the Georgia Board of Dentistry to create a continuing education requirement as a component of licensure renewal on the prescribing of opioids, which is effective for the 2019 license renewal year
GDA members have access to a patient handout regarding safe practices around opioid use.