Controlled Substances and Substance Abuse: Best Practices for the Healthcare Professional

Subject areas

This course counts toward the state boards and subject areas below.

Disclosure statements

Notice: Effective July 1, 2026, this course includes new content on Sickle Cell. If you purchased or completed this course prior to July 1, 2026, your version does not include content related to Patient Care with Sickle Cell.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, nurses will be able to: 

1.   Identify clinical and prescribing factors associated with misuse, diversion, overdose risk, and evolving substance use disorder, using validated and non-stigmatizing risk frameworks.

2.   Differentiate appropriate controlled-substance prescribing approaches for acute pain, subacute or chronic pain, anxiety-related conditions, and stimulant prescribing.

3.   Evaluate patient-specific benefit versus harm when initiating, continuing, modifying, or tapering controlled-substance therapy, including the use of PDMP data and toxicology testing.

4.   Select risk-mitigation strategies, including patient counseling, naloxone offering, monitoring, documentation, and referral, for patients receiving controlled substances.

5.   Implement individualized, evidence-based, and non-stigmatizing strategies for managing acute and chronic pain in patients with sickle cell disease.

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