Arizona launches real-time, opioid hotline for medical providers
The Arizona Department of Health Services and Arizona’s Poison and Drug Information Centers has launched one of the nation’s first real-time, comprehensive hotlines for healthcare providers seeking consultation for complex patients with pain and opioid use disorder.
The free hotline, the Arizona Opioid Assistance, and Referral Line will be operated 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and answered by medical experts at Arizona’s Poison and Drug Information Centers to provide support to medical providers about a wide array of opioid-related topics.
Dr. Cara Christ, director of the Arizona Department of Health Services said no two patients are the same.
“Preventing opioid overdoses and deaths in our state needs a multifaceted approach, and the new hotline is a major step forward as it will give medical providers immediate access to experts who can help to ensure safe prescribing and to identify treatment options for patients, which may or may not include opioids,” said Christ.
ADHS and Arizona’s Poison and Drug Information Centers are developing a new protocol that will include specific opioid-related information for providers. This could include safe prescribing limits for opioid-naive patients, identification of potentially dangerous drug combinations, and chronic pain treatment options.
The Arizona Opioid Assistance and Referral Line will also include information for providers caring for patients who may be suffering from opioid use disorder. The hotline is supported by funding through the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System and the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“This one of a kind resource will connect Arizona healthcare providers with subject matter experts at Arizona’s Poison Control Centers to provide them with free, real-time, reliable information and resources to support patient management,” said Dr. Dan Brooks, medical director for the Banner Poison and Drug Information Centers. “We’re thrilled to make available our network of clinical experts to assist Arizona clinicians treating patients with acute and chronic pain, acute opioid complications, or opioid withdrawal, and provide patient-specific consultation in real-time.”
The hotline is one of several initiatives to support Arizona prescribers and healthcare providers managing patients with chronic pain, including an update of the Arizona Opioid Prescribing Guidelines and developing a Statewide Health Educational Programs’ Curriculum to include education on pain and opioid use disorder.
The hotline number is 1-888-688-4222.
