The European Conference on OAD (ECOAD)

Pharmacom Media will be running the ECOAD meeting in Berlin from the 5th to 6th September. At this meeting we will bring leading pain and addiction specialists together from the key European countries. Painkillers are a growing market and prescribing is on the increase. Opioid Analgesic (painkiller) Dependence (OAD) is becoming a major healthcare problem all over the world. Most people who become addicted to opioids do so after a prescription for a painkiller following a medical procedure. Patients are prescribed opioids for a painful condition, and as time passes by some patients tend to use the prescribed opioids (codeine, morphine, oxycodone, tramadol, and other) in larger amounts and for longer periods of time than initially agreed with their clinicians. Treating pain and addiction is very difficult. Clinical expertise in both addiction and pain management is needed. In advance of the meeting Pharmacom are using the reach of the Cogora network of healthcare professionals to survey hundreds of GPs, addiction specialists and pain specialists to collect data and enable us to get a better overview and understanding of the way OAD is currently managed by healthcare professionals working in different specialties and in different countries. When the groups meet in Berlin this data will be shared with the group and from the meeting the ideal patient treatment pathway will be established for each country and this will form the output and publication from the meeting. This publication will help local physicians better understand how the prevention, detection, treatment and management of OAD can be achieved within their local healthcare system. Back to news grid