Insights Newsletter: Overcome Barriers to Opioid Use for Cancer Pain, Avocados and Heart Health, New CE for June, and More!

Help Overcome Barriers to Opioid Use for Cancer Pain

• Pain Point: About 1 in 3 adults with cancer pain report difficulty getting opioid prescriptions, often due to payer rejects or limits. But opioids are often needed for cancer pain, and these patients are excluded from typical opioid restrictions.
• Solution: Our Pharmacy Technician’s Letter, Pharmacist’s Letter, Pharmacist’s Letter Canada, Pharmacy Technician’s Letter Canada, and Prescriber’s Letter articles provide guidance to overcome barriers and reduce stigma related to the use of opioids for cancer pain. A clear, stepwise approach for treating cancer pain is outlined, along with practical strategies to ensure appropriate documentation and to limit delays. Our resource, Managing Cancer Pain in Adults, provides other clinical considerations, such as opioid titration and management of side effects.  Our pharmacist training programs, RxAdvanced: Opioid Stewardship teaches the skills needed for expert pain management, and RxAdvanced: Guide to Cannabis provides guidance on safe use of cannabis in oncology care.

Do Avocados Really Benefit Heart Health?

• Pain Point: Avocados have received a lot of attention over the past few years for a variety of reasons ranging from millennial spending to skin health to lowering cholesterol levels. Most recently, some research has suggested that avocados can reduce the risk of heart disease and obesity. Healthcare professionals should be prepared to answer questions about the benefits and risks of avocados.
• Solution: Research on the benefits of avocado is promising, with some studies suggesting that eating as little as half of an avocado twice a week might reduce the risk of heart disease. There’s also some data suggesting that eating avocados helps to reduce appetite and encourage weight loss. Although the jury is still out as to whether it’s the avocado or the lifestyle that is truly beneficial, avocados are generally safe. But patients should be aware of the dangers of certain avocado storage hacks and the poor quality of many avocado oils. Our Natural Medicines article explains how to advise patients on the safe consumption of avocados.

This month’s Insights also features our new pharmacist training program, RxAdvanced: Guide to Cannabis, 16 hours of ACPE-accredited training that helps pharmacists stay up-to-date with the latest science-based cannabis research.

And don’t miss out on our most popular charts, as well as helpful resources from our Natural Medicines Resource Hub. You’ll also get details on freshly released CE/CME courses, and can’t-miss webinars, including our live webinar on cannabis use for pain management in oncology.

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