The Food and Drug Administration has re-introduced an educational blueprint for healthcare providers delivering pain treatment for patients.

In remarks delivered today, FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, MD, said the updated blueprint is part of a range of actions to address the “urgency and complexity of the opioid crisis.”

The document, Opioid Analgesics REMS Education Blueprint for Health Care Provider Involved in the Treatment and Monitoring of Patients with Pain, contains core educational messages for healthcare providers involved in the treatment and monitoring of patients with pain. It also includes more information on pain management, including the principles of acute and chronic pain management; non-pharmacologic treatments for pain; and pharmacologic treatments for pain (both non-opioid analgesic and opioid analgesic).

Gottlieb also announced efforts to better engage stakeholders on solutions, as well as steps to update packaging for certain opioids

“All of these steps are meant to help ensure appropriate use of opioids as they’re intended,” said Gottlieb. “But there is much more to do and we are mindful that any intervention the FDA considers should minimize the burden on appropriate patient access and, to the extent practicable, on the delivery system.”