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April 3, 2017, 12:00 PM

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Couldn't join us for the event? Check out the slide presentations below!

Description

The current opiate epidemic has spurred long-overdue scrutiny on the pharmaceutical production and distribution of opiate medication, but it also raises questions of public policy and law regarding the regulation of medical access to and use of opiate medications with high potential for addiction. Expert panelists addressed the challenges that arise from efforts to balance restrictions on access to opiates to limit addiction while also preserving sufficient access for legitimate medical management of pain.

Panelists

  • Monica Bharel, MD, MPH, Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Public Health

  • David Borsook, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus in Anesthesiology, Harvard Medical School; co-director, Center for Pain and the Brain at Boston Children's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital, and McLean Hospital; and affiliated faculty, Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital

  • Rita Nieves, Deputy Director, Boston Public Health Commission

  • Moderator: Amanda C. Pustilnik, JD, Professor of Law, University of Maryland Carey School of Law; affiliated faculty, Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital; and 2014-2015 Senior Fellow in Law and Applied Neuroscience as part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience, a collaboration between the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Petrie-Flom Center

This event was free and open to the public.

Learn More

Slide Presentations

Check out the new EdX course "The Opioid Crisis in America," developed by faculty at Harvard Medical School, to learn more about opioid addiction, evidence-based treatment models, harm reduction approaches that law enforcement and public health officials are using to reduce opioid overdose deaths, and non-opioid alternatives for medical pain management. This online course is free and self-paced; the first session will be available online on March 27, 2017.

Part of the Project on Law and Applied Neuroscience, a collaboration between the Center for Law, Brain & Behavior at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School.


Videos

VIDEO: Robert Kinscherff and Amanda Pustilnik, Welcome and Introduction

VIDEO: Commissioner Monica Bharel, "Addressing the Opioid Epidemic through a Public Health Lens"

VIDEO: David Borsook, "Opioids for Chronic Pain: Where is the Science for the Clinician?"

VIDEO: Rita Nieves, "Boston Public Health Commission: A City Health Department's Perspective On the Opiate Epidemic"

VIDEO: Audience Q&A

Tags

addiction   bioethics   doctor patient relationship   health law policy   neuroscience   pharmaceuticals   project on law and applied neuroscience   public health   regulation