Effects of the Opioid Crisis on Veterinary Medicine

Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA

Dr Peter Weinstein is a husband, father, pet parent, veterinarian and leader He has been involved with virtually all aspects of veterinary practice from a 15 year old kennel kid to a hospital owner. Organized veterinary medicine has been a passion as well with various roles and leadership and presidencies of Southern California VMA, California VMA, and Vet Partners. He is a published author, most notably of the EMyth Veterinarian-Why Most Veterinary Practices Don’t Work and What to Do About It. Currently, among other things, he is teaching business and finance at the Veterinary College of Western University of Health Sciences. He likes to think of himself as a free thinking change agent and disruptor who, because he has a daughter in veterinary school, is working for an even better veterinary profession in the future.

Kelley Detweiler

Kelley Detweiler is a DEA controlled substance and regulatory compliance expert who provides solutions and services to public and private entities in the pharmaceutical, healthcare, supply chain and veterinary industries. She is the Founder of DEA360 and Kolibry, national compliance firms comprised of retired government agents, investigators, and security experts that assist companies operating with controlled substances and regulated chemicals, as well as a Partner in Simple Solutions 4 Vets with Dr. Peter Weinstein, a corporation focused on helping veterinary professionals implement proactive solutions to meet DEA and state regulatory compliance requirements.

Kelley’s work in the veterinary industry includes having inspected, audited, and remediated over 700 veterinary facilities in North America (including Canada). She is a RACE-approved instructor and CE broker, the coauthor of “Safeguarding Controlled Substances” published by AAHA, a faculty author/speaker for DVM 360 and author for Today’s Veterinary Business where her column, “Let’s Talk Drugs” is featured.

Internationally, Kelley addresses controlled substance and regulatory issues on a global level and has been a featured speaker at the United Nations in addition to serving as a subject matter expert for Bloomberg News.

Overview:

Veterinarians have been drawn into the opioid crisis because of their dispensing, prescribing and utilizing controlled substances in their practices. Not only controlled substances but other Drugs of Concern are used routinely for patient care. The supply chain issues, diversion issue, and addiction issues are a must understand and recognize by the veterinary profession. They may be happening right in your own pharmacy. There is no excuse to not know these issues. They are significant and concerning. For years the veterinary industry operated using controlled substances without the threat of drug diversion taking place or the DEA showing up to conduct an unannounced inspection. All of that changed when the opioid epidemic hit an all-time high in 2016 and veterinarians working with controlled substances joined human healthcare in being a target for individuals seeking to abuse, misuse and illegally obtain controlled substances. As the DEA became aware of the potential for diversion throughout the veterinary industry, veterinarians and practices alike became easy targets and “low hanging fruit”.

Learning Objectives:

This session is designed to provide attendees with an understanding of how opioids and other substances of concern are impacting veterinary medicine, what to be aware of and how to protect yourself and your practice. Key areas, include:

1. Overview: Learn how the opioid epidemic started, how it progressed into veterinary medicine and where we are today.

2. Threats: The issue of controlled substance diversion throughout the veterinary industry continues to escalate and presents both internal as well as external threats to your practice. Know the risks ranging from the internal threat of employee drug diversion and self-use to the external threat patient-client owner “doctor-shopping”. Learn the basics concerning the types of threats facing veterinarians today as well as tips for reducing risk to you and your practice.

3. Drugs of Concern: What started with opioids has grown into a myriad of substances, both controlled and non-controlled, with the potential for theft and abuse. Learn what controlled substances are commonly diverted, abused and why; including non-controlled substances that are frequently abused and misused alone or in combination with controlled substances.

4. Misuse, Abuse and Addiction: Drug abuse, misuse and addiction continues to escalate across the nation; affecting our communities, families, and workplaces. The issue has spanned every segment of our world. Addicts no longer look like the posterchild “junkies” used on D.A.R.E. campaigns and drug dealers are no longer confined to individuals pushing pills on the street. Learn how to recognize the signs of addiction, what to do if you suspect an individual may be abusing or misusing controlled substances as well as resources available to ensure you don’t have to handle these issues on your own.

This course is RACE-approved for 1.0 continuing education credits hours in jurisdictions that accept RACE-approval.