Opioid Prescribing Work Group

        The information in parenthesis indicates the statutorily set membership categories.

• Julie L. Cunningham, PharmD, BCPP, Mayo Clinic Health System (nonphysician health care professional who treats pain)
• Sen. Chris Eaton, RN, Minnesota State Senate (consumer representative)
• Tiffany Elton, PharmD, NCPS, Consultant (pharmacist)
• Dana Farley, MS, Minnesota Department of Health (nonvoting)
• Rebekah Forrest, RN, CNP, North Point Community Clinic (nurse practitioner)
• Ifeyinwa Nneka Igwe, MD, Essentia Health (physician)
• Bradley Johnson, MD, South Country Health Alliance (health plan medical director)
• Chris Johnson, MD, Allina Health (Health Services Advisory Council member)
• Ernest Lampe, MD, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry (DLI medical consultant; nonvoting)
• Matthew Lewis, MD (not practicing), Winona (consumer representative)
• Pete Marshall, PharmD, HealthPartners (health plan pharmacy director)
• Murray McAllister, PsyD, LP, Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute (nonphysician health care professional who treats pain)
• Richard Nadeau, DDS, MPH, University of Minnesota School of Dentistry (dentist)
• Mary Beth Reinke, PharmD, MSA, Department of Human Services (DHS pharmacy unit; nonvoting)
• Charles Reznikoff, MD, Hennepin County Medical Center (mental health professional)
• Vacant, Minnesota Department of Human Services (Minnesota Health Care Program medical director; nonvoting)
• Detective Charles Strack, Little Falls Police Department (law enforcement)
• Lindsey Thomas, MD, Midwest Medical Examiner's Office, retired (medical examiner)

The work group will convene in fall 2019. Upcoming meetings will be posted to the web site and announced through the work group’s email distribution list. Please email dhs.opioid@state.mn.us to be added to the list.

The fall meeting dates are:
September 19, 2019
October 17, 2019
November 21, 2019
December 19, 2019

Next meeting: Thursday, October 17, 2019; 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.  

Meeting location:

        Minnesota Department of Human Services
        444 Lafayette Road N., Room 5139 
        St. Paul, MN 55155 

All meetings are open to the public. To attend in person, you must register in advance with staff in order to arrange for a visitor’s badge and escort to the meeting.

Live-streaming webcast: You can view a live-streaming webcast of each meeting and submit written comments or questions in real time. Submitted comments and questions will be addressed during the public comment portion of each meeting. You do not need to register in advance to view the live webcast.

View the live-streaming webcast. Note: the link will be live at approximately 12:45 p.m. on the day of the work group meeting. If the primary hyperlink does not work, a backup link is available.  The webcast is best supported on Chrome and FireFox. If you experience difficulty accessing the webcast on the day of the work group meeting, please call the IT Help Desk at 651-431-2070.

Meeting agendas: See the meeting materials section below for agendas, or email staff to receive agendas and background materials via email before each meeting.

To request an accommodation: To request a reasonable accommodation to make it possible for you to attend any of the meetings or view the live webcast, please send a request as soon as possible to staff.

• Sept. 19 agenda (PDF)
• April 18 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)
• March 21 agenda (PDF)| meeting minutes (PDF)
• Feb. 21 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)
• Jan. 17 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)

Previous meetings

2018

• Feb. 22 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)
• March 15 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)
• Nov. 15 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)

2017

2016

2015

• Nov. 23 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)
• Dec. 14 agenda (PDF) | meeting minutes (PDF)

The Opioid Prescribing Work Group comprises consumers, health care and mental health professionals, law enforcement and representatives of the managed care organizations that contract to serve Minnesota Health Care Program members. The work group is an advisory body of experts convened under the OPIP. It is tasked with providing recommendations on the following Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program components:

• Protocols that address all phases of the opioid prescribing cycle
• Development of educational resources and messages for providers to use in communicating with patients about pain and the use of opioids to treat pain
• Quality-improvement measures to assess variation and support improvement in clinical practice
• Two thresholds directed at Minnesota Health Care Program-enrolled providers with persistently concerning prescribing practices, one threshold that will trigger quality improvement and the other termination from the Minnesota Health Care Program.

DHS is committed to transparency and gathering public input during development of the Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program. DHS invites input from clients, stakeholders and citizens.  Each of the components of the program, recommended by the Opioid Prescribing Work Group, will be posted to this web page for a period of public comment. The components include:

• Draft opioid prescribing recommendations (acute, post-acute and chronic pain) (public comment process completed)
• Recommended sentinel measures of opioid prescribing during each pain phase (completed)
• Recommended criteria for a mandatory quality improvement program

The DHS opioid prescribing reports compare an individual provider’s prescribing rates in seven opioid prescribing measures to the average rate of their specialty peer providers. The reports do not identify any individual or group peers. The purpose of the reports is to support quality improvement among providers at the local and the state level.

Contact work group staff by mail at the address below or by email. 

Minnesota Department of Human Services
PO Box 64983
St. Paul, MN 55164-0983