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Sunday, October 24, 2010

8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Buprenorphine for Nurses

Colleen LaBelle, RN, Boston Medical Center , Boston , MA
Sara Azimi-Bolourian, MSN, SAMHSA, Rockville, MD

This Pre-Conference session introduces a new guideline titled “Buprenorphine: A Guide for Nurses”. It was published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) as the 30th publication in the Technical Assistant Publication Series (TAP #30). This Pre-Conference session is intended to provide nurses with general information about buprenorphine products— Suboxone® (buprenorphine and naloxone) and Subutex® (buprenorphine)—for the pharmacological treatment of opioid addiction. It covers screening, assessment, and diagnosis of opioid dependence and its associated problems and contains detailed protocols for the use of buprenorphine under a variety of clinical scenarios, including the use of buprenorphine with patients who are experiencing co-occurring pain or psychiatric disorders, or chemical dependency involving more than one substance.

The session also provides nurses with a comprehensive overview of nursing roles in screening and assessing the health status of patients who have addiction problems. Moreover, the session focuses on nurses instrumental roles in the development and ongoing monitoring of treatment plans for patients who are on buprenorphine treatment and counseling and referral for psychosocial treatment. This session will assist nurses in developing improved understanding of the complexities of addictions treatment, and will promote better treatment outcomes by utilizing a team approach to patients’ opioid dependence.

Sara Azimi-Bolourian will provide introductory remarks and a brief overview of the federal requirements for buprenorphine prescription and nursing roles.

Colleen LaBelle will lead the session afterwards and provide information on the pharmacology of buprenorphine, detailed protocols for the use of buprenorphine under a variety of clinical scenarios, and protocols on the use of buprenorphine for medically supervised withdrawal, for classifications of medically supervised withdrawal, and for maintenance treatment. She will also describe the advantages and challenges of providing office-based treatment.

Sponsored by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (SAMHSA/CSAT).