Should Physicians Prescribing Opioids Be Confident In Managing Chronic Pain?
A physician’s confidence level when writing a prescription for a patient typically isn’t questioned, but maybe it should be — especially when it comes to practitioners prescribing opioids for chronic pain.
A new report revealed that only 25% of physicians who are certified to prescribe opioids believe they are “very confident” in their skills to manage patients using these drugs. The Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and myCME, Haymarket Medical Education’s global medical education website, released the results of the survey.
Low confidence levels in physicians could be the result of little to no training focusing on safe opioid prescribing and management. Dr. Daniel Alford, director of BUSM’s Safe and Competent Opioid Prescribing Education (SCOPE of Pain) program, said that this topic isn’t covered much in medical school or residency training.
“Physicians may also feel uncomfortable prescribing or denying opioids because they don’t have the tools to effectively communicate the issue of misuse with their patients, and there are limited access to other treatments for chronic pain,” he said. “Better access to continuing education that focuses on this topic, including Web-based educational opportunities such as programs like SCOPE of Pain that can be accessed anytime, will enable prescribers to help patients who can benefit from opioid therapy while lessening the risks.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/cjarlotta/2015/06/05/should-physicians-prescribing-opioids-be-confident-in-managing-chronic-pain/
= new reply since forum marked as read
