Beyond Withdrawal: Optimizing Pain in the Opioid Tolerant Patient

Saturday, April 25, 2026

4:45 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Location: Harbor D-F, Level 2

Presenter(s)

Joseph D'Orazio, MD, FAAEM, FACMT, FASAM, FCPP

Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Christine Collins, MD

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine
Cooper University Hospital
Haddon Township, New Jersey

Slides Handouts

Non-presenting author(s)

Sam J. Stern, MD

Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine
Temple University Hospital
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This session equips addiction medicine clinicians with practical strategies to manage both pain and withdrawal in patients with severe opioid tolerance. Through a blend of didactic teaching and interactive case discussions, participants will explore basal-bolus opioid approaches, PCA use, the roles of methadone and buprenorphine, and multimodal non-opioid therapies. Attendees will leave with evidence-based, patient-centered tools to improve pain outcomes while reducing healthcare disparities.

Learning Objectives:

Learners will be able to:

Upon completion, participants will be able to apply a basal-bolus approach to managing patients with severe opioid dependence and tolerance
Upon completion, participants will learn how to use long and short-acting opioids, including methadone and buprenorphine, as well as PCA pump to manage both withdrawal and pain in the inpatient and perioperative settings
Upon completion, participants will learn how to incorporate multimodal non-opioid therapies, including regional anesthesia, into individualized treatment plans to optimize analgesia and reduce disparities in care.

Disclosure(s):

Joseph D'Orazio, MD, FAAEM, FACMT, FASAM, FCPP: No financial relationships to disclose

Christine Collins, MD: No financial relationships to disclose

Sam J. Stern, MD: No financial relationships to disclose