Prescribe Safe Monterey County - Information for healthcare professionals

Information for healthcare professionals

Prescribe Safe resources for healthcare professionals, including guidelines, referrals, patient handouts, publications, resources for pharmacists and dentists, and videos.

Need help Fast? Hotlines/Warmlines providing help for providers treating patients with substance use

California Substance Abuse Line, (844) 326-2626
The California Substance Use Line is a free, 24/7 teleconsultation service for California clinicians. Staffed by experienced physicians and pharmacists who can answer confidential questions about substance use evaluation and management, including medications to treat opioid use disorder
Substance Use Warmline, (855) 300-3595
Consultation is available Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m ET, from addiction medicine-certified physicians, clinical pharmacists, and nurses with special expertise in pharmacotherapy options for opioid use.
California Poison Control, 1-800-222-1222
California Poison Control System can help you with: identification of opioid withdrawal, dosing of buprenorphine to treat opioid withdrawal, solutions or troubleshooting a plan to bridge patients to outpatient buprenorphine maintenance therapy, treatment of opioid withdrawal in special populations (e.g. pregnancy, pediatrics), treatment of precipitated withdrawal, and treatment of patients with other underlying toxicological conditions.

Resources for Clinicians and Clinical Guidelines

Emergency Department pain medication prescribing guidelines (PDF)
Primary care pain medication prescribing guidelines (PDF)
CDC guidelines for prescribing (PDF)
CDC guidelines for tapering opiates (PDF)
Guidelines for prescribing controlled substances for pain - Medical Board of California (PDF)
Turn the Tide RX
Resources for opioid prescribers (PDF)
2015 Interagency guideline on prescribing opioids for pain (PDF)
Less is more - Writing prescriptions in a safer way (PDF)
Opioid stewardship and chronic pain - A guide for primary care providers (PDF)
STOPOID - An evidence-based guide to using non-opioid therapies to treat pain
Breaking the Stigma - Resources to help break down the stigma against addiction
Yale Emergency Medicine: Developing an ED-Initiated Buprenorphine Program (PDF)
ED MAT Resources from Cal/ACEP - Buprenorphine Guidelines
Clinical Improvement Network: Treating Substance Use in Primary Care
Best Practices for Chronic Pain Management - East Bay/Alameda County Guidelines (PDF)
Best Practices for Acute Pain Management - East Bay/Alameda County Guidelines (PDF)
Prescribe Safe - Best Practices for Chronic Pain Management (with links) (PDF)
Center for Opioid Research and Education - Free Resources to Educate Clinicians and Empower Patients
Surgical Opioid Guidelines - Recommendations on how many doses of pain medications are needed after common surgeries
Medicare Learning Network: Why to Avoid Co-Prescribing Opioids and Benzodiazepines (PDF)
A Guide to Understanding how non-physician practitioners approach treating pain (PDF)
Guidelines for Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Opioids (PDF)

FDA news releases

Resources for pharmacists

Resources for dentists

Los Angeles Dental Society: Safe prescribing information for dentists
Monterey Bay Dental Society: Drug diversion prevention practices (PDF)
Monterey Bay Dental Society: Guidelines for pain management (PDF)
Dental Opioid Guidelines - Recommendations on how many doses of pain medications are needed after common dental procedures

Informational videos

Helpful links

Overview of Prescribe Safe
Comprehensive Guide to Substance Use Treatment Programs in Monterey County (PDF): English | Spanish
Prescribe Safe - Best Practices for Chronic Pain Management (PDF)
Find Naloxone near you
Fact sheet (PDF)
Timeline of work (PDF)
Email us

Prescribing more safely

Prescribe Safe

More and more people were coming to our Emergency department seeking pain medications or, worse, after an overdose. Our doctors knew something had to be done. The result: Prescribe Safe, a countywide effort that's taking on the opioid epidemic.