Using Buprenorphine for Pain and Dyspnea in Frail and Older Adults

Registration Fee

Members: $100.00
Non-members: $150.00

WHEN

Wednesday, May 27 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. ET
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Wednesday, June 24 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET
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Wednesday, September 9 5 p.m. - 7 p.m. ET
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Thursday, October 22 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. ET
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Where

Zoom

Offers CE

As the population of older adults with complex medical needs continues to grow, clinicians need clear, practical guidance to manage pain safely and effectively. This two-hour, live, interactive workshop is designed for prescribing clinicians (MDs, PAs, APRNs) and registered nurses (RNs) who care for older adults with serious illness and requiring buprenorphine for pain or dyspnea.

Pain management in this population must account for age-related pharmacokinetics as well as complex medical issues. Buprenorphine, a unique opioid with partial mu agonist and kappa antagonist properties, offers a promising option for pain management in adults who are older and/or frail. This workshop will explore the physiological changes associated with aging that influence opioid selection, examine the pharmacologic properties of buprenorphine, and review current evidence supporting its use in frail and older adults.

Using a case-based approach, participants will receive evidence-based guidance on opioid selection, dosing strategies, and safe prescribing practices. The workshop will also address management of acute pain in patients already on buprenorphine and review the emerging role of buprenorphine in the treatment of dyspnea—a particularly relevant symptom in this population. The workshop will conclude with an open question-and-answer session, allowing clinicians to ask questions, discuss challenging cases, and share clinical experiences related to buprenorphine use in the care of frail and older adults.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

Describe the pharmacologic properties and mechanism of action of buprenorphine, including its role as both a partial mu agonist and kappa antagonist
Discuss the current evidence base supporting the use of buprenorphine for pain management in frail or older adults
State three physiological changes in older adults that may affect opioid selection and anticipated response
State safe prescribing principles of buprenorphine in older adults, including opioid rotation from another opioid to buprenorphine
Explain how to manage an individual’s acute pain while they are on buprenorphine
Discuss the use of buprenorphine for the treatment of dyspnea
Explain why buprenorphine might be an attractive option for pain management in an older adult or an adult with frailty

What You’ll Earn

To earn Continuing Education credits for this live event, you must join Zoom using the same email address as your CAPC user account (you can verify the address on your capc.org dashboard). We cannot provide Continuing Education credits if you join by phone for the live event. You must also attend at least 90% of the event, and complete the evaluation.

Accreditations and Disclosures

Physicians

This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of the Medical Society of the State of New York (MSSNY) and the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). MSSNY is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The Medical Society of the State of New York designates each session of this live activity for a maximum of 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ displayed per session. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 2.0 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine's (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. Participants will earn MOC points equivalent to the amount of CME credits claimed for the activity. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.

As an ACCME-accredited provider, MSSNY is required to identify and mitigate relevant financial relationships of all individuals in control of CME content.

Financial relationships are relevant if the following three conditions are met for the prospective person who will control content of the education:

✓ A financial relationship, in any amount, exists between the person in control of content and an ineligible company.

✓ The financial relationship existed during the past 24 months.

✓ The content of the education is related to the products of an ineligible company with whom the person has a financial relationship.

None of the individuals in control of content have relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Minutes: 120 or 2.0 contact hours

Reviewed: 2/18/2026 | Released: 5/27/2026 | Expires: 10/22/2026

Physician Assistants

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts credit from organizations accredited by the ACCME. Medical Society of the State of New York designates this enduring material with 2.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ as specified, which can be applied to the continuing education of Physician Assistants. Physician Assistants should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Nursing

This activity has been submitted to the Connecticut Nurses' Association for approval to award contact hours. The Connecticut Nurses' Association is accredited as an approver of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Verification of Attendance (VOA)

All users that are not eligible for continuing education will receive a Verification of Attendance certificate upon completion of the course.

How to Achieve Contact Hours: To successfully earn credit, participants must attend for 90% of the live activity and complete the course evaluation. A printable certificate of completion or a continuing award document specific to the discipline will be awarded.

Course Media Instructions and Additional Information

Software Requirements: CAPC’s online curriculum, tools and technical assistance are designed to be fully compatible through multiple platforms: computer, smartphone (iOS or Android) or tablet running the following web browsers: Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge.

Content: Each course is comprised of interactive learning components (articles, tools, or supporting materials), video and audio. The learner will be expected to participate in discussions and breakout sessions.

Target Audience: Each program is developed for nurses, physicians, physician assistants, palliative care program leaders, and healthcare leaders (hospital, health system and community care).

Activity Description/Statement of Needs: CAPC’s online curriculum provides training in two critical areas. Technical assistance courses are designed to help palliative care program leaders address key challenges such as implementing palliative care in community health care settings. Clinical coursework provides fundamental training in pain and symptom management, communication, and other key skills needed to work with patients with serious illness.

Faculty Disclosures and Financial Relationships: It is the policy of CAPC to ensure objectivity, balance, independence, transparency, and scientific rigor in all CE, CNE and CME educational activities per the highest standards of ANCC and ACGME guidelines. For all courses, Faculty/Presenters/Authors/Content Reviewers/Planning Committee Members complete forms to disclose their relevant financial relationships. No relevant financial relationships were identified for any individuals with the ability to control content of the activity.

Disclaimers: The opinions expressed in the courses are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the sponsor, the educational partner, or the supporter. Please review complete prescribing information of specific drugs or combination of drugs, including indications, contraindications, warnings, and adverse effects before administering pharmacologic therapy to patients. Activities do not contain information on commercial products/devices that are unlabeled for use or investigational uses of products not yet approved.

Copyright Information: All rights reserved by the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). No materials may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews.

Course Directors and Faculty

Diane E. Meier, MD, FACP, FAAHPM
Founder, Director Emerita and Strategic Medical Advisor, Center to Advance Palliative Care
Co-director, Patty and Jay Baker National Palliative Care Center
Professor, Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine
Catherine Gaisman Professor of Medical Ethics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Justin Kullgren, PharmD, FAAHPM

PGY2 Pain and Palliative Care Residency Program Director, The Ohio State University and Palliative Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Kyle Quirk, PharmD, BCPMP

Palliative Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Henry Ford Hospital