Pain Management: Evidence-Based Guidance for Prescribing Opioids

Course overview

Nurse Practitioners (NPs), Physician Assistants (PAs), Pharmacists, and Dentists care for patients with disorders in many healthcare settings. Individuals may seek care for an acute illness or worsening of a chronic condition. Often, pain is the leading reason for seeking medical care. Appropriate prescribing practices are critical for all medications, but controlled substances require special attention. Substance use disorder costs society more than $740 billion annually in workplace productivity, healthcare, and crime-related expenses (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2020). In addition, substance use disorders are complex phenomena affecting many lives. This course provides a review of federal and state-controlled substance regulations and the prescribing practices for controlled substances. The focus is on clinical and safety considerations when prescribing non-cancer-related opioid medications for acute/chronic pain, with information on drug diversion.