Wolf Administration officials announced that two new prescribing guidelines, Guidelines for the Safe Administration of Subanesthetic Ketamine and Treatment of Acute and Chronic Pain in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease have been published to assist physicians working to treat patients.
“These two prescribing guidelines developed by the Safe and Effective Prescribing Task Force are the latest available to assist healthcare providers as they treat their patients,” said Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine. “These guidelines bring the total number to 14 available to physicians as they work to treat people who are already dealing with the disease of addiction. It is important that physicians look at a wide range of therapies as they work to treat these subsets of the population.”
The ketamine guideline differs from previous prescribing guidelines by addressing administration of a non-opioid. The ketamine guideline provides best practices for the subanesthetic administration of ketamine for a variety of conditions. This includes recommendations for the treatment team, treatment location, patient selection, and patient monitoring.
The SCD guideline provides best practices to treat acute painful crises that occur with SCD patients, as well as best practices for chronic pain care. The SCD guideline addresses the specific needs of that patient population. This can help prevent the misapplication of recommendations to populations that are outside the scope of other prescribing guidelines, including patients experiencing acute sickle cell crises. It is especially important to have resources specifically for the treatment of SCD patients as this patient population often experiences racial disparities and stigma.
“Health care professionals play a vital role in combating the opioid crisis,” said Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Jen Smith. “The reality is that even individuals with opioid use disorder experience chronic pain and need treatment plans that meet their unique needs. We must give physicians the tools to adequately treat individuals living with substance use disorder to ensure they can lead happy, healthy lives.”
