‘Epidemic’ of opioid abuse could reach NZ and Australia

Media release
Emergency medicine conference highlights

Wednesday 23 November, Millennium Hotel, NZ

The increasing importance that healthcare providers are placing on eliminating unnecessary and sometimes harmful tests, treatments and procedures – commonly referred to as the ‘Choosing Wisely’ movement – is a major focus of the ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting being held at the Millennium Hotel in Queenstown, New Zealand.

At 9.00am on Wednesday 23 November, Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton will tell the conference that many procedures and investigations in the ED have become both a reflex action and so commonplace that the risks may not be recognised.

To CT or not to CT? When a diagnostic procedure does more harm than good

Associate Professor Egerton-Warburton received widespread acclaim – and several awards – for her Just say no to the just-in-case cannula research project in 2015, which revealed that up to half of peripheral intravenous catheters inserted into patients were unused and put patients at risk without any chance of benefit.

In her Plenary presentation this morning, she will address another common medical procedure that is done in the name of patient safety but which may pose more risks than benefits: the computed tomography (CT) scan.

Over the last two decades there has been a rapid increase in the number of CT scans being ordered on behalf of patients. Although these are done in the name of patient safety and clinical care, the unintended consequences of over-diagnosis, incidental findings, radiation exposure and increase ED length of stay are often not considered.

A/Prof Egerton-Warburton’s presentation looks at recent literature surrounding cases of Renal colic. CT scans are often ordered in relation to Renal colic and A/Prof Egerton-Warburton examines the data and explores alternative diagnostic alternatives.

Sustaining a career in emergency medicine

Leading a sustainable career in Emergency Medicine will be the focus for a session beginning at 11.00am on Wednesday 23 November at the ACEM Annual Scientific Meeting in Queenstown, NZ.

The session will start with an overview of results from the 2016 ACEM Workforce Sustainability Survey, which covered topics including burnout, work-life balance, job satisfaction and personal health.

Following the presentation of survey results, President-elect Dr Simon Judkins and emergency medicine trainee Dr Kimberly Humphrey will share their thoughts and personal experiences on their respective careers in emergency medicine.

The second half of the session will be a panel discussion on the question ‘How can we lead change to improve the sustainability of the specialist emergency medicine workforce?’

The panel includes ACEM President Professor Anthony Lawler, Dr Simon Judkins, Associate Professor Diana Egerton-Warburton, Dr John Chambers, Dr Melanie Rule and Dr Kimberly Humphrey.

Wellness

At 1.30pm, Dr John Chambers, emergency medicine physician at Dunedin Hospital, Otago, will be presenting ‘That’s what you all signed up for!’ as part of the Wellness session.

Recent research in New Zealand has shown that emergency medicine specialists are particularly susceptible to ‘burn out’, although the problem has received attention internationally.

“We all ‘signed up’ for a career treating patients who need our help urgently,” Dr Chambers said. “This means we sometimes have the opportunity to save someone’s life, but it also exposes us to a high level of stress that can take its toll.”

“Sometimes we need to be able to ask for help.”

‘Epidemic’ of opioid abuse could reach New Zealand, Australia

An epidemic of opioid abuse costing tens of thousands of lives a year has developed in the United States and could threaten people in New Zealand and Australia.

In his talk ‘The American Opioid Explosion: A Cautionary Tale’ Dr Mark Sagarin outlines the enormous rise in prescription of opioids by American doctors over the past 15 years.

He believes a range of forces – including the influence and practices of pharmaceutical companies – are to blame.

“Drug companies really fueled this by helping doctors change the culture of prescription around these medicines,” he says. “They created a massive marketing campaign to encourage doctors to use these painkillers more frequently.”

“Doctors in New Zealand and Australia should not follow suit.”

Dr Sagarin gives his talk at 11.30am on Wednesday 23 November.

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