Washington State University Nursing Expert Named To National Committee

Tracy Klein, associate professor of nursing at WSU Vancouver, has been selected to assist in drafting national guidelines for helping patients taper off benzodiazepines.

Also known as ‘benzos,’ these drugs are approved for use for anxiety, insomnia, alcohol withdrawal as well as muscle spasm and seizure disorders, but Klein said many patients receive them “off-label” for other conditions. They are highly addictive, and studies have associated their long-term use with increased respiratory issues, depression, injuries from falls, and even death.

The only nurse practitioner on the American Society of Addiction Medicine committee empaneled to develop the guidelines, Klein was recommended for the post by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners. She described it as a great honor to represent her profession. It’s also a chance to help take her work at WSU to a national level.

“I hope to implement and improve several of my own teaching practices around ‘deprescribing,’ which is a skill not often taught to clinicians,” Klein said. “This appointment intersects perfectly with my research which focuses on safe and effective prescribing – and incorporates my expertise as a member of many state policy committees charged with developing and implementing evidence-based policies.”

ASAM recently received a grant from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to form this committee to develop evidence-based benzodiazepine tapering guidelines. In addition to nurse practitioners, the committee includes representatives from many healthcare professions, including doctors, psychiatrists, and pharmacists. The committee will convene in January 2023. The work is expected to take 18 months.