Joan Haltom, Pharm. D, FKSHP, system director of Pharmacy for Ephraim McDowell Health, recently earned the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) Opioid Stewardship Certificate. The Kentucky Statewide Opioid Stewardship Program leads the efforts to promote safe prescribing of opioids in hospitals and clinics across Kentucky, and sponsored several Kentucky pharmacists, including Haltom, in pursuing this certification.

To earn certification, Haltom participated in 22 hours of continuing education on how to help reduce the suffering of pain patients while reducing their risk of addiction. Components of the education included strategies for creating executive leadership support and practitioner buy-in, using data and metrics to inform program development, quality improvement, and management, methods for educating the healthcare team and patients, and patient care strategies that identify and mitigate risks while incorporating shared decision-making with patients and/or caregivers.