AMA Applauds Trump Administration’s Creation of Opioids Commission

CHICAGO — The American Medical Assoc. (AMA) said it looks forward to working with the Trump administration’s new commission to create policies intended to end the opioid epidemic sweeping the country.

“The AMA has been a leader in developing a comprehensive response to the opioid epidemic, and we are excited to share the expertise of the nation’s physicians on this topic. Our Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse has issued recommendations and worked to raise awareness within the physician community,” said Dr. Patrice Harris, AMA board chair. “We are poised to offer guidance in areas of effective public-health approaches, best practices, clinical tools, medication-assisted treatment, and barriers to effective treatment. We want to emphasize the need to treat substance-use disorder as a medical illness and eliminate the stigma associated with seeking treatment for pain and substance abuse.”

The AMA has a new education module that offers clinicians a review of the basic approaches and actions to reduce opioid-related harm in patients with acute or chronic pain.