Webinar: Opioid Stewardship – Keys to Developing a Successful Program

Melissa Blair is a pharmacist with over 25 years of direct patient care, education, and leadership experience in both acute and ambulatory health-system settings. She earned her BS Pharmacy and PharmD degrees from West Virginia University and completed a Family Medicine Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina. Previous positions include the College of Pharmacy Faculty, Ambulatory Care Clinical Coordinator, and Clinical Manager and Education Coordinator of an 800-bed health-system. Dr. Blair serves as the Senior Editor for TRC Healthcare, a leading provider of evidence-based, cutting edge medication advisory and education services including Hospital Pharmacist’s Letter and Hospital Technician’s Letter. Dr. Blair is active in ACCP, ASHP, and presently is Chair of the Pharmacotherapy Council for BPS.

Neda Pourdeyhimi is a pharmacist at New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NHRMC) in Wilmington, NC. She earned her Bachelor of Science from NC State University and Doctorate of Pharmacy from Wingate University and is board certified in pharmacotherapy. Dr. Pourdeyhimi primarily works on an inpatient surgical unit where the majority of her patients have undergone general, orthopedic trauma, or neurosurgical intervention. Many of these surgical patients receive opioids in the perioperative period, putting Dr. Pourdeyhimi in the unique position to help evaluate the appropriate use of opioids both inpatient and at discharge. Dr. Pourdeyhimi is an integral member of the NHRMC Opioid Task Force, which aims to fight the opioid epidemic within the community by developing and implementing opioid stewardship tools. She also is an active member of the hospital’s antimicrobial and P&T committee.