Strategies for Appropriate Opioid Prescribing: The Florida Requirement _ _____________________________
Inappropriate opioid analgesic prescribing for pain is defined as the non-prescribing, inadequate prescribing, excessive prescribing, or continued prescribing despite evidence of ineffectiveness of opioids [1]. Appropriate opioid prescribing is essential to achieve pain control; to minimize patient risk of abuse, addiction, and fatal toxicity; and to minimize societal harms from diversion. The foundation of appropriate opioid prescribing is thorough patient assessment, treatment planning, and follow-up and monitoring. Essential for proper patient assessment and treatment planning is comprehension of the clinical concepts of opioid abuse and addiction, their behavioral manifestations in patients with pain, and how these potentially problematic behavioral responses to opioids both resemble and differ from physical dependence and pseudo- addiction. Prescriber knowledge deficit has been identified as a key obstacle to appropriate opioid prescribing and, along with gaps in policy, treatment, attitudes, and research, contributes to widespread inadequate treatment of pain [2]. For example, a survey measuring 200 primary care physicians’ understanding of opioids and addiction found that [3]: • 35% admitted knowing little about opioid addiction. • 66% and 57% viewed low levels of education and income, respectively, as causal or highly contributory to opioid addiction. • 30% believed opioid addiction “is more of a psychologic problem,” akin to poor lifestyle choices rather than a chronic illness or disease. • 92% associated prescription analgesics with opioid addiction, but only 69% associated heroin with opioid addiction. • 43% regarded opioid dependence and addiction as synonymous. This last point is very important because confusion and conflation of the clinical concepts of dependence and addiction has led to accusations of non-addicted patients with chronic pain of misusing or abusing their prescribed opioid and in the failure to detect treatment-emergent opioid problems. Knowledge gaps concerning opioid analgesics, addiction, and pain are related to attitude gaps, and negative attitudes may interfere with appropriate prescribing of opioid analgesics. For example, when 248 primary care physicians were asked of their prescribing approach in patients with headache pain with either a past or current history of substance abuse, 16% and 42%, respectively, would not prescribe opioids under any circumstance [5]. Possibly contributing to healthcare professionals’ knowledge deficit in pain treatment is the extent of educational exposure in school. A 2011 study found that U.S. medical school students received a median 7 hours of pain education and Canadian medical students a median 14 hours, in contrast to the median 75 hours received by veterinarian school students in the United States [6].
INTRODUCTION Pain is the leading reason for seeking medical care, and pain management is a large part of many healthcare professionals’ practice. Opioid analgesics are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for moderate and severe pain and are broadly accepted in acute pain, cancer pain, and end-of-life care, but are controversial in chronic noncancer pain. In response to the long-standing neglect of severe pain, indications for opioid analgesic prescribing were expanded in the 1990s, followed by inappropriate prescribing and increasing abuse, addiction, diversion, and overdose through the 2000s. In tandem with the continued under-treatment of pain, these practice patterns led to needless suffering from uncontrolled pain, opioid analgesic addiction, and overdose. Opioid analgesic prescribing and associated overdose peaked in 2011 with both now in multi-year decline, but information on these important trends is largely absent in the medical literature and media reporting. Patients show substantial opioid response variations in analgesia and tolerability and may exhibit a range of psychologic, emotional, and behavioral responses that reflect inadequate pain control, an emerging opioid use problem, or both. Clinician delivery of best possible care to patients with pain requires appreciation of the complexities of opioid prescribing and the dual risks of inadequate pain control and inappropriate use, drug diversion, or overdose. A foundation for appropriate opioid prescribing is the understanding of factual data that clarify the prevalence, causality, and prevention of serious safety concerns with opioid prescribing. DEFINITIONS Definitions and use of terms describing opioid analgesic misuse, abuse, and addiction have changed over time, and their current correct use is inconsistent not only among healthcare providers, but also by federal agencies reporting epidemiologic data, such as prevalence of opioid analgesic misuse, abuse, or addiction. Misuse and misunderstanding of these concepts and their correct definitions have resulted in misinformation and represent an impediment to proper patient care.
28
MDFL0626
Powered by FlippingBook