Ameritox Symposium to Help Educate Physicians about Emerging Trends in Opioid, Designer Drug Misuse and Abuse at Third Annual CASIPP Meeting

BALTIMORE, Nov. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ameritox^SM, the nation's leader in medication monitoring solutions, today announced an upcoming symposium titled "Emerging Trends in Managing Opioid Abuse and Misuse: New Recommendations and Designer Drugs," to be held in conjunction with the third annual California Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (CASIPP) meeting in Newport Beach, Calif., on Nov. 10.

The symposium will feature leading pain expert Daniel Bennett, M.D., medical director, Integrative Treatment Centers, Westminster, Colo., along with Harry Leider, M.D., chief medical officer, Ameritox.  Dr. Bennett will discuss the recently published "Recommendations for Urine Drug Monitoring as a Component of Opioid Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Pain" – created by pain medicine experts and facilitated by the School of Population Health at Thomas Jefferson University.  The Recommendations provide real-world insights for physicians treating chronic pain patients, including which patients to test, how often to test, how to interpret results, and how to handle discrepancies based on specific results.

"Regardless of age or background, all patients have a degree of risk for misuse of opioids," explained Dr. Bennett.  "For interventional pain physicians, who are truly central to both providing quality patient care and protecting public safety, understanding the technology and tools that are available to support clinical practice is particularly important. That's why I'm so pleased to be able to speak directly with CASIPP members about these recommendations.  Routine monitoring with UDM is critical to maintaining patient safety."

Dr. Leider will discuss designer drugs such as "bath salts" and synthetic marijuana variants like "K2" and "Spice," which are manufactured versions of illicit substances created by chemists to bypass laws and provide a "legal high." In 2011, the National Poison Control Centers received more than 6,000 calls about synthetic cathinones (including bath salts), compared to only 300 in 2010. Moreover, the American Association of Poison Control Centers reported that the number of calls related to synthetic marijuana and/or K2/Spice more than doubled from 2010 to 2011.

"Supporting physicians who seek to ease patient suffering while protecting public safety is our singular focus at Ameritox," said Dr. Leider. "As new, dangerous drugs make their way into users' hands – particularly synthetic drugs designed by street chemists in an effort to skirt the law – the ability to screen for these compounds is critical for helping clinicians protect patients and their communities. We are committed not only to advancing the science of UDM, but to ensuring that all pain practitioners on the front lines have access to education around these  issues that are so important to society."

The symposium will be held in the Catalina Room at the Resort at Pelican Hill from 5 to 6 p.m. A wine and cheese reception will begin at 4:30 p.m.

For additional information, visit www.ameritox.com.

About Ameritox
Ameritox is the nation's leader in Pain Medication Monitoring Solutions^®, offering specialized laboratory testing and reporting services. Ameritox's expertise and innovative science provide physicians with insights and support to enhance and optimize the care of chronic pain patients. Ameritox offers the most thorough pain medication monitoring lab process – Rx Guardian^SM – with Rx Guardian CD^SM, the only pain medication monitoring process with a proprietary normalization algorithm and a reference database of pain patients clinically assessed for adherence. Patient results are compared against this database, helping physicians assess whether patients are taking their pain medications correctly. Monitoring through prescription drug testing helps physicians make more informed clinical decisions and manage the risks and complexities associated with prescribing pain medications. Ameritox is headquartered in Baltimore, Md. with laboratory facilities in Midland, Texas and Greensboro, N.C. Ameritox can be found online at www.ameritox.com, on Twitter @Ameritox, on Facebook at facebook.com/ameritox, and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/ameritox.

© 2012 Ameritox Ltd. All rights reserved. Ameritox, Ameritox-Medication Monitoring Solutions, Rx Guardian, Rx Guardian INSIGHT and Rx Guardian CD are trademarks of Ameritox. Other trademarks are the property of their owners.

SOURCE Ameritox