Profession
Barriers to prescribing opioids
■ An occasional snapshot of current facts and trends in medicine.
Quick View. Posted June 16, 2008
Seven in 10 doctors agree that chronic noncancer pain is undertreated in the U.S.
Nearly half of 150 practicing primary care physicians surveyed said they used nonclinical considerations to determine whether to prescribe opioids to treat such pain. In a recent study by the American Pain Foundation, the doctors ranked regulatory and law enforcement scrutiny as the biggest barriers. Physicians were asked to rank the most significant impediments to safe and effective long-term opioid use in chronic noncancer pain patients on a scale of 1 (not an obstacle) to 4 (a great obstacle).
Source: "Opioid Utilization Study," American Pain Foundation, research conducted Oct. 4-24, 2007