Avella Specialty Pharmacy recently announced that it has launched a new mobile app aimed at care providers who manage patients suffering from chronic pain or an addiction to pain medication or other substances. This Pain and Addiction Management Mobile App will provide much-needed guidance and support for providers in the wake of the opioid epidemic and tightening regulations around the prescribing of certain pain medications.
More than twenty-five million Americans, or more than one in ten people, experience chronic pain daily according to the National Institutes for Health. This legitimate need for pain relief is exceedingly difficult to manage given the inherent risks involved in prescribing powerful narcotics. In 2015, opioid drug overdoses led to the death of 33,000 people in this country as reported by the CDC, greater than any year on record. Approximately half of these deaths involved a prescription opioid.
In response to this crisis, many new non-narcotic medications are now being introduced to treat chronic pain, along with therapies designed to help patients addicted to prescription opioids. Given all of these options now available, along with an increasingly regulated prescribing landscape, Avella identified a need to help providers identify the most appropriate, safe and effective medications for their patients.
Avella’s new mobile app provides information about a variety of pain and addiction management medications available from different manufacturers, all in one place. Prescribers can search for clinical information by medication name or category for 45+ pain and addiction management medications including:
The app also hosts detailed medication information such as indication and usage, dosage and administration, contraindications, warnings, adverse reactions and more. The mobile app is updated frequently to assist in the prescribing of pain and addiction management medications.
Aside from medication information, users can access powerful tools within the app. This includes drug dosage calculators and opioid converters, which can be used to transition patients to a new medication while maintaining safety and efficacy of treatment. The app also features industry news, professional organizations, conferences and continuing medical education, as well as evidence-based prescribing guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Society of Addiction Medicine.
“Prescribing pain medications has always been a difficult task given the safety risks, addiction potential and side effects of certain powerful narcotics,” said Eric Sredzinski, Pharm.D, EVP of Clinical Affairs and Quality Assurance Program Director for Avella. “Today it is more challenging than ever, which is why we’re looking to support our provider partners as they help patients manage chronic pain while preventing the devastating impact of opioid addiction.”
The Pain and Addiction Management Mobile App from Avella is now available on the Apple App store, providers can search for “Pain Management Medication App.” Learn more about Avella's Pain and Addiction Management mobile app today.