W.Va. School of Osteopathic Medicine, Attorney General Morrisey Reach New Frontier in Opioid Fight

LEWISBURG — The West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine endorsed Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s strategy to reduce usage of dangerous prescription painkillers and adopted his best practices for use at the school’s Robert C. Byrd Clinic.
Dr. Michael D. Adelman, president of the state’s School of Osteopathic Medicine, endorsed the Attorney General’s best practices and indicated they “have the ability to turn the tide” against opioid abuse and addiction in West Virginia.
“These recommendations provide rational, concrete solutions that will have tremendous effect in our state if broadly used,” Adelman said. “These guidelines are one of the strongest tools our state has to address this crisis. The idea behind these best practices meshes perfectly with what osteopathic medicine has taught for over a century.”
The School of Osteopathic Medicine already stands recognized as the nation’s leader in rural primary care and ranked as the No. 12 medical school for family medicine. It now joins another noteworthy list in supporting a plan also endorsed by the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, W.Va. State Medical Association, W.Va. Osteopathic Medical Association and the state’s Boards of Medicine and Osteopathic Medicine.
“West Virginia’s School of Osteopathic Medicine once again demonstrates its commitment to top-notch healthcare,” Attorney General Morrisey said. “I have great confidence its adoption of our best practices will lead to a significant cut in the prescribing of opioids, especially within our rural communities where its alumni have a huge footprint of success.”
The recently finalized project sets forth best practices to reduce the use of prescription opioids by at least 25 percent, while preserving legitimate patient access to necessary treatment.
“We are pleased to adopt these best practices in our affiliated health center, the Robert C. Byrd Clinic,” Adelman said. “Attorney General Morrisey’s best practices both fight the overprescribing of opioids, and encourage the practice of better medicine.”
Read the School of Osteopathic Medicine’s letter of support at http://bit.ly/2bgx3xh, along with more about its nationally-recognized record of success at http://bit.ly/2bPLFFN.