American Society of Anesthesiologists Joins National Academy of Medicine’s Action Collaborative to Counter Opioid Epidemic

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) today announced its role as a network organization of the National Academy of Medicine’s (NAM) Action Collaborative on Countering the U.S. Opioid Epidemic to reverse the opioid crisis. 

ASA is one of over 100 organizations across the U.S. that have committed to combating opioid misuse, abuse and overdose by joining the Action Collaborative as a network organization.  As a network organization, ASA will be specifically committed to providing solutions to prevent opioid misuse, abuse and diversion. 

“The 53,000 members of the ASA are committed to combating the ongoing opioid crisis and we are thrilled to support the important work of the Action Collaborative,” said ASA President Linda J. Mason, M.D., FASA.  “We look forward to working with the many partners to not only address the crisis, but to ensure the surgical setting is a key opportunity for prevention.”

The surgical setting can expose millions of patients to opioids, which may lead to potential risk and addiction. As experts in pain management and patient safety, physician anesthesiologists are uniquely qualified to provide recommendations and action plans regarding the use of opioid-sparing techniques and alternative treatment options in the surgical setting, to prevent opioid abuse and misuse.   

To provide an opportunity for participating network organizations to discuss and share plans of action, the NAM has collected statements describing current work and future goals to counter the opioid epidemic in the areas of health professional education and training; opioid prescribing guidelines and evidence standards; prevention, treatment, and recovery; and research, data, and metrics. To read ASA’s Commitment Statement, visit nam.edu/OpioidNetworkOrgs. 

Since fall of 2018, ASA has served on Action Collaborative work groups including the “Prescribing Guidelines and Evidence Standards Working Group” and “Research, Data, and Metrics Working Group.”  ASA is excited to further its leadership role in combating the opioid crisis within the Action Collaborative by becoming a network organization.

THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF ANESTHESIOLOGISTS

Founded in 1905, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) is an educational, research and scientific society with more than 53,000 members organized to raise and maintain the standards of the medical practice of anesthesiology. ASA is committed to ensuring physician anesthesiologists evaluate and supervise the medical care of patients before, during and after surgery to provide the highest quality and safest care every patient deserves.

For more information on the field of anesthesiology, visit the American Society of Anesthesiologists online at asahq.org. To learn more about the role physician anesthesiologists play in ensuring patient safety, visit asahq.org/WhenSecondsCount. Like ASA on Facebook; follow ASALifeline on Twitter.

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