Effective Prescribing of Opioids for Chronic Pain (EPOCH)

Effective Prescribing of Opioids for Chronic Pain (formerly "Safer Opioid Prescribing") is one of Canada's longest-running opioid CPD programs. Its three webinars and capstone workshop reflect the 2025 Canadian Guideline for Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain, equipping physicians and health care providers from multiple disciplines, with up-to-date skills to support patients with chronic pain who are prescribed opioids.

Pain BC would like to partner with interested organizations to hold this program in any Canadian province or territory. The program can be run entirely online or the workshop can be in person. If you are an organization interested in offering this program in your area, please click the button below. Individual health care providers need not apply here.

Employ multi-modal approaches to managing complex chronic pain
Initiate & manage effective opioid analgesic therapy
Prevent & address opioid use disorder
Practice the culturally safe communication skills essential for a resilient therapeutic partnership
Shift from prescribing medication to collaborating on pain assessments and total pain management plans

This could be a good placeholder (not visible now) to announce and direct to any orgs offering the program.

The webinars are held monthly. Each webinar is 2 hours long.

1. Assessing and managing complex chronic pain

Learning outcomes:

Recognize the complex illness experience of chronic pain;
Complete a comprehensive assessment of patients with chronic pain;
Implement multimodal approaches to chronic pain management, including opioids when indicated;
Evaluate the utility of different opioids to manage chronic pain.

2. Prescribing opioids for chronic pain

Learning outcomes:

Initiate opioids for the management of chronic pain;
Evaluate, monitor and support your patients living with chronic pain and using opioids;
Taper, switch and discontinue opioid therapy when risks outweigh benefits;
Collaborate with other healthcare professionals to support patients managing chronic pain

3. Opioid use disorder in primary care

Learning outcomes:

This small-group, problem-based interactive workshop builds on the knowledge and expertise shared in the first three webinars. Learners who complete the three webinars will be invited to register for the capstone workshop. The workshop can be held online or in person as per the host organization's preference. The host organization is responsible for workshop location and other logistics especially if in person.

Learning outcomes

In order to receive full credits for the program, participants' activities and assignments are tracked throughout the program. These activities can take participants up to an an extra 9 hours of time.

Examples of activities

Needs assessment pre-webinar surveys allow participants to reflect on real patient experiences, identify gaps in pain assessment and management, and target learning toward improving comprehensive, collaborative, and evidence-based approaches to chronic pain and opioid therapy.
Post-webinar surveys and worksheets encourage reflection of usage of practice tools such as NSAID Selection Tool, the Prescription Opioid Misuse Index (POMI); Opioid Manager Section E Tapering and others.
A pre-workshop challenging case survey helps prepare sharing a Challenging Case in Opioid Use and Misuse within the workshop.
Post-workshop assignments such as the Structured Opioid Therapy Worksheet one month after the workshop and a Chart Review Survey two months after the workshop are required to receive additional credits.
Workshop and full program evaluations

Assignments and review of materials can take participants up to 6 hours for the webinars about 2 hours per webinar and up to 3 hours for the workshop totally an additional 9 hours of time.

Effective Prescribing of Opioids for Chronic Pain (EPOCH)

Learning outcomes

Program structure

Webinars (6 hours)

Workshop: Challenging Cases in Opioid Use (1 day)

Additional activities and assignments (9 hours)

Partners

Faculty