New CDC Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control & Prevention), has come out with new guidelines for managing pain with opioids. (See: What Is An Opioid)

• You can read about the updates on Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain at the CDC Website.

Opioids are commonly prescribed for pain. An estimated 20% of patients presenting to physician offices with noncancer pain symptoms or pain-related diagnoses (including acute and chronic pain) receive an opioid prescription.

In 2012, health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid pain medication, enough for every adult in the United States to have a bottle of pills. Opioid prescriptions per capita increased 7.3% from 2007 to 2012, with opioid prescribing rates increasing more for family practice, general practice, and internal medicine compared with other specialties.

Prescription Amounts Vary

Rates of opioid prescribing vary greatly across states in ways that cannot be explained by the underlying health status of the population, highlighting the lack of consensus among clinicians on how to use opioid pain medication.

Prevention, Assessment, and Treatment of Chronic Pain

Prevention, assessment, and treatment of chronic pain are challenges for health providers and systems. Pain might go unrecognized, and patients, particularly members of racial and ethnic minority groups, women, the elderly, persons with cognitive impairment, and those with cancer and at the end of life, can be at risk for inadequate pain treatment. Patients can experience persistent pain that is not well controlled.

There are clinical, psychological, and social consequences associated with chronic pain including limitations in complex activities, lost work productivity, reduced quality of life, and stigma, emphasizing the importance of appropriate and compassionate patient care.

Patients should receive appropriate pain treatment based on a careful consideration of the benefits and risks of treatment options.

You can read about it at the CDC Website.