DEA Washington Launches New Conference Series to Work with Healthcare Professionals & Help End the Overdose Crisis
The first event features SAC Jarod Forget and DPM Justin Wood, executive leaders at DEA Washington Division, who will share best practices, trend information, and discuss how they can work together to combat the crisis.
The DEA Washington Division, an agency currently working to expand partnerships to offer targeted, full-scope solutions for the drug problems in Maryland, Washington DC, and Virginia, today introduced a new webinar series, “Empowering DMV Healthcare Professionals.” The idea for this unique concept was crystalized during the pandemic, when overdose rates began to soar, and many local healthcare workers expressed a desire to partner with the DEA in more meaningful ways to combat the issue.
“This is a new opportunity for our agency and our Diversion experts to work with local healthcare professionals, who are out there on the front lines in our communities, dealing with hard realities of this crisis, and provide more tangible and proactive solutions,” said Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA Washington Division. “There’s no question that the need for more collaborative, targeted solutions to the problem of diverted and misused opioids and other prescription drugs has arrived, and we want to give healthcare providers and professionals real-world insights into how we can work together to create a better system.”
The first webinar event “Opioid Abuse: A Critical Public Health Issue” will be held April 22, 2021 at 1:30 PM (EST) and webinars will be ongoing throughout the year. Each event will cover a different topic of interest and will be moderated by Justin Wood, Diversion Program Manager for the DEA Washington Division, and supported by Special Agents, Diversion Investigators, Community Outreach Coordinators, and other DEA experts in the field.
“The role of health care practitioners in prescribing, administering, and dispensing controlled substances is critical to patients’ health,” said Justin Wood, Diversion Program Manager for the DEA Washington Division. “Our goal in these events is to work together in a much more collaborative way to help us tip the scale throughout the DMV, in making our communities safer from the problems associated with prescription drug diversion; shaping a normative culture of safety, moderation and informed decision-making; and ultimately help form a better quality of life for our neighbors throughout the tristate area.”
Future conference topics will include important issues in the healthcare field such as guidelines for handling, dispensing and prescribing opioids; identifying diversion in healthcare settings; controlled substances DEA requirements and best practices; and more.
More information on these events, along with registration, can be found at http://www.deaDiversion.usdoj.gov/mtgs.
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