How opioid prescribing policies influence primary care clinicians' treatment decisions and conversations with patients with chronic pain

dc.contributor.authorDanielson, Elizabeth C.
dc.contributor.authorHarle, Christopher A.
dc.contributor.authorDowns, Sarah M.
dc.contributor.authorMilitello, Laura
dc.contributor.authorMazurenko, Olena
dc.contributor.departmentHealth Policy and Management, School of Public Health
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-04T14:23:20Z
dc.date.available2023-08-04T14:23:20Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractObjective: The 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain aimed to assist primary care clinicians in safely and effectively prescribing opioids for chronic noncancer pain. Individual states, payers, and health systems issued similar policies imposing various regulations around opioid prescribing for patients with chronic pain. Experts argued that healthcare organizations and clinicians may be misapplying the federal guideline and subsequent opioid prescribing policies, leading to an inadequate pain management. The objective of this study was to understand how primary care clinicians involve opioid prescribing policies in their treatment decisions and in their conversations with patients with chronic pain. Design: We conducted a secondary qualitative analysis of data from 64 unique primary care visits and 87 post-visit interviews across 20 clinicians from three healthcare systems in the Midwestern United States. Using a multistep process and thematic analysis, we systematically analyzed data excerpts addressing opioid prescribing policies. Results: Opioid prescribing policies influenced clinicians' treatment decisions to not initiate opioids, prescribe fewer opioids overall (theme #1), and begin tapering and discontinuation of opioids (theme #2) for most patients with chronic pain. Clinical precautions, described in the opioid prescribing policies to monitor use, were directly invoked during visits for patients with chronic pain (theme #3). Conclusions: Opioid prescribing policies have multidimensional influence on clinician treatment decisions for patients with chronic pain. Our findings may inform future studies to explore mechanisms for aligning pressures around opioid prescribing, stemming from various opioid prescribing policies, with the need to deliver individualized pain care.
dc.eprint.versionAuthor's manuscript
dc.identifier.citationDanielson EC, Harle CA, Downs SM, Militello L, Mazurenko O. How opioid prescribing policies influence primary care clinicians' treatment decisions and conversations with patients with chronic pain. J Opioid Manag. 2021;17(6):499-509. doi:10.5055/jom.2021.0684
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1805/34751
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherWeston Medical
dc.relation.isversionof10.5055/jom.2021.0684
dc.relation.journalJournal of Opioid Management
dc.rightsPublisher Policy
dc.sourcePMC
dc.subjectChronic pain
dc.subjectOpioid prescribing policies
dc.subjectTreatment decisions
dc.subjectPrimary care
dc.titleHow opioid prescribing policies influence primary care clinicians' treatment decisions and conversations with patients with chronic pain
dc.typeArticle
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