Additional Resources for Pain Management

Acceptable Sources Include Accredited Courses from the Following:

  • The American Society of Addiction Medicine
  • The American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry
  • The American Medical Association
  • The American Osteopathic Association
  • The American Dental Association
  • The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
  • The American Psychiatric Association
  • The American Nurses Credentialing Center
  • The American Association of Nurse Practitioners
  • The American Academy of Physician Associates
  • Any organization approved by the ACCME, or the CCEPR

Pain Management and the Prescription of Opioids

Courses meeting the Texas Medical Board requirement for Pain Management and the Prescription of Opioids for licensure can be counted as described below:

Texas Medical Board recognized AMA credit that meets the Pain Management and the Prescription of Opioids requirement awards topics that relate or focus on inpatient and outpatient treatment of patients with substance use disorders and those requiring pain management because of disease or trauma. Eligible topics include, but are not limited to:

  • the efficacy and safety of medications for substance use disorders and acute and chronic pain
  • management of acute versus chronic pain
  • monitoring of pain management medications in the primary care or inpatient setting
  • protocols for the safe and effective management of opioids and other controlled substances
  • strategies to improve outcomes of pain management.

Additional Courses

Bringing Alcohol and Other Drug Research to Primary Care 1 credit hour available

AMA Substance Use Disorders and Addiction Education 57 credit hours available

NIH Training Resources – Alcoholism 10.5 Credit hours available

PCSS – Buprenorphine Training for Physicians 8 Credit hours in variable formats

ACCME - CME Passport Library of Pain Management Over 1500 CME activities available

In selecting courses, you may wish to review the recommendations from SAMHSA - Recommendations for Curricular Elements in Substance Use Disorder Training

  1. Substance Use Disorders
    1. Use of validated screening tools for SUD and risk factors for substance use, including mental disorders
    2. Diagnosis and assessment of individuals who screen positive for SUDs
    3. The initiation and management of FDA approved medications for SUDs (opioids, alcohol and tobacco), including the impact of unique, individual physiology and metabolism on medication pharmacodynamics
    4. Consideration of polysubstance use and co-occurring mental disorders
    5. Patient and family education on safety and overdose prevention (diversion control; safe storage; use of naloxone)
  2. Effective Treatment Planning
    1. Use of patient-centered decision making and paradigms of care, and use of evidence-based communication strategies such as shared decision making and motivational interviewing
    2. The impact of stigma, trauma and the social determinants of health on substance use and recovery
    3. Collaborating with other disciplines to facilitate access to medications and referrals to services such as case management
    4. Legal and ethical issues involved in the care of patients with SUD
  3. Pain management and substance misuse
    1. The assessment of patients with acute, subacute, or chronic pain
    2. Components of developing an effective treatment plan, including general principles underlying nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic analgesic therapy, as well as the importance of multidisciplinary treatment interventions
    3. Managing patients on opioid analgesics, including tapering off the medication when the benefits of opioids no longer outweigh the risks
    4. Recognizing signs of OUD in the setting of prescribed opioids

*Exceptions to the training requirement:

  • Prescribers who are board certified in addiction medicine or addiction psychiatry by the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Board of Addiction Medicine or the American Osteopathic Association do not need to complete
  • A graduate in good standing from a U.S. medical, physician assistant, advanced practice nursing or dental school within five years of June 27, 2023, who successfully completed eight hours of training on treating and managing a patient with opioid and other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all drugs approved by the FDA for the treatment of a substance use disorder

Last Reviewed: 05/17/2023