______________________________________________________ Opioid Safety: Balancing Benefits and Risks
Clinicians should use prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP) data (see Recommendation 9) and toxicology screen- ing (see Recommendation 10) as appropriate to assess for concurrent substance use that might place patients at higher risk for opioid use disorder and overdose. Clinicians should provide specific counseling on increased risks for overdose when opioids are combined with other drugs or alcohol (see Recommendation 2) and ensure that patients are provided or receive effective treatment for substance use disorders when needed (see Recommendation 12). Although substance use disorder can alter the expected benefits and risks of opioid therapy for pain, patients with co-occurring pain and substance use disorder require ongoing pain management that maximizes benefits relative to risks. (See Recommendation 12 Pain Management for Patients with Opioid Use Disorder for additional considerations specific to these patients.) If clinicians consider opioid therapy for chronic pain for patients with substance use disorder, they should discuss increased risks for opioid use disorder and overdose with patients, carefully consider whether benefits of opioids out- weigh increased risks, and incorporate strategies to mitigate risk into the management plan, such as offering naloxone and increasing frequency of monitoring (see Recommendation 7). If patients experience nonfatal opioid overdose, clinicians should evaluate for opioid use disorder and treat or arrange treatment if needed. Clinicians should work with patients to reduce opioid dosage and to discontinue opioids when indi- cated (see Recommendation 5) and should ensure continued close monitoring and support for patients prescribed or not prescribed opioids. If clinicians continue opioid therapy in patients with prior opioid overdose, they should discuss increased risks for overdose with patients, carefully consider whether benefits of opioids outweigh substantial risks, and incorporate strategies to mitigate risk into the management plan, such as considering offering naloxone and increasing frequency of monitoring (see Recommendation 7). Recommendation 9 When prescribing initial opioid therapy for acute, subacute, or chronic pain, and periodically during opioid therapy for chronic pain, clinicians should review the patient’s history of controlled substance prescriptions using state PDMP data to determine whether the patient is receiving opioid dosages or combinations that put the patient at high risk for overdose (recommendation category: B, evidence type: 4). Implementation Considerations Ideally, PDMP data should be reviewed before every opioid prescription for acute, subacute, or chronic pain. This practice is recommended in all jurisdictions where PDMP availability and access policies, as well as clinical practice settings, make it practicable (e.g., clinician and delegate access permitted).
At a minimum, during long-term opioid therapy, PDMP data should be reviewed before an initial opioid prescription and then every three months or more frequently. Recommendation category B acknowledges variation in PDMP availability and circumstances. However, because PDMP information can be most helpful when results are unexpected, and to minimize bias in application, clinicians should apply this recommendation when feasible to all patients rather than differentially based on assumptions about what they will learn about specific patients. Clinicians should use specific PDMP information about medications prescribed to their patient in the context of other clinical information, including their patient’s history, physical findings, and other relevant testing, to help them communicate with and protect their patient. Clinicians should review PDMP data specifically for prescrip- tion opioids and other controlled medications patients have received from additional prescribers to determine whether a patient is receiving total opioid dosages or combinations (e.g., opioids combined with benzodiazepines) that put the patient at risk for overdose. PDMP-generated risk scores have not been validated against clinical outcomes such as overdose and should not take the place of clinical judgment. Clinicians should not dismiss patients from their practice on the basis of PDMP informa- tion. Doing so can adversely affect patient safety and could result in missed opportunities to provide potentially lifesaving information (e.g., about risks of prescription opioids and about overdose prevention) and interventions (e.g., safer prescrip- tions, nonopioid pain treatment [see Recommendations 1 and 2], naloxone [see Recommendation 8], and effective treatment for substance use disorder [see Recommendations 8 and 12]). Clinicians should take actions to improve patient safety: • Discuss information from the PDMP with their patient and confirm that their patient is aware of any additional prescriptions. Because clinicians often work as part of teams, prescriptions might appropriately be written by more than one clinician coordinating the patient’s care. Occasionally, PDMP information can be incorrect (e.g., if the wrong name or birthdate has been entered, the patient uses a nickname or maiden name, or another person has used the patient’s identity to obtain prescriptions). • Discuss safety concerns, including increased risk for respiratory depression and overdose, with patients found to be receiving overlapping prescription opioids from multiple clinicians who are not coordinating the patient’s care or patients who are receiving medications that increase risk when combined with opioids (e.g., benzodiazepines; see Recommendation 11) and offer naloxone (see Recommendation 8).
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