The high frequency of utilization of the hospital ED by patients seeking care for non-emergent dental conditions provided the impetus for Mercy Health, Ohio’s largest healthcare provider, to develop strategic approaches to pain management and the opioid crisis by creating a definitive care concept, an evidence-based pain management curriculum, a substance abuse screening tool, and strategic utilization of the electronic medical record to track inappropriate prescribing profiles to alert and educate prescribers relative to best practices.

• Understand the development, operational approach and rationale for implementing the Definitive Care Concept
• Recognize evidence-based approaches to pain management including preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative approaches
• Recognize the benefits of creating tools to improve identification of at-risk patients, encourage early treatment referrals, establish acute withdrawal protocols and provide more efficient access to available PDMP databases