Highlights from the IOTOD Winter Webinar
The IOTOD winter webinar focused on the heightened risks associated with opioid dependence in older adults and in patients with respiratory comorbidities.
The IOTOD (Improving Outcomes in the Treatment of Opioid Dependence) expert winter webinar took place in December 2025. The free 60-minute educational webinar, ‘Opioid Dependence and Respiratory Health: Understanding and Managing the Impact’, was delivered by our CME division, PCM Scientific, in collaboration with leading experts to develop a clinically relevant, practice-focused programme.
The session explored how opioids affect respiratory function and why conditions such as COPD, sleep apnoea, cardiovascular disease and frailty significantly increase patient risk, particularly when patients are taking multiple medicines at the same time. Expert faculty shared best-practice approaches to managing opioid dependence in these complex patient groups, alongside practical strategies to overcome common barriers to care.
The IOTOD winter webinar was led by Dr Philip Bruggmann, Arud Centres for Addiction Medicine, Zürich, Switzerland, and Duncan Hill, Specialist Pharmacist in Substance Use Management at NHS Lanarkshire, Scotland. Together, they explored key learning objectives, including the effects of opioid use on the respiratory system, the relationship between opioid dependence and chronic respiratory disease, and potential management solutions.
Healthcare professionals attended live, including GPs, hospital pharmacists, nurses and addiction specialists. The event was promoted through Cogora’s media brands, reaching a broad multidisciplinary audience across primary and secondary care.
Feedback from delegates was highly positive, with 96% of respondents reporting that the content was relevant to their practice. Delegate comments included:
- 'The presentation was very informative and will be very helpful while reviewing medication for people with substance misuse.'
- 'Excellent session, given me ideas to develop the service offered.'
The webinar is now available for our audience to watch on demand, and follows the success of our Summar Webinar delivered in September, 'Reach. Reconnect. Retain: Solutions for engaging high-risk opioid-use disorder (OUD) patients'.
This IOTOD webinar is supported by grant funding from Camurus and Hospital Healthcare Europe. The educational programme is run at arm’s length from the financial supporters, and all content is created by the faculty. No funder has had input into the content of the materials or presentations used in the educational programme. PCM Scientific is the medical education company acting as scientific secretariat and webinar organiser.