Prescribing opioids safely: How to have difficult patient conversations

Drug overdose is the leading cause of accidental death in the U.S., and opioids account for over 60 percent of those deaths. While opioids are effective pain medications when used in the proper setting, concerns arise when the patient’s condition lasts longer than three months, and prescribing more medication does not necessarily result in better pain control. Building a strong doctor-patient rapport can help facilitate conversations with patients about opioid prescriptions and reduce risks that could lead to malpractice suits. The Doctors Company reviewed 1,770 claims that closed between 2007 and 2015 in which patient harm involved medication factors. In 272 of these claims (15 percent), the medications were narcotic analgesics. Sixty-four percent of these claims were in the outpatient setting, including: physicians’ offices and hospital clinics (78 percent) ambulatory and day surgery (10 percent) emergency room (9 percent) patient’s home (3 percent) The admitting diagnoses for these outpatient narcotic-related claims were pain not otherwise specified (NOS) (24 percent), spine-related pain (22 percent), joint/extremity-related pain (9 percent), mental health issues (6 percent), and drug abuse/dependence (4 percent). Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Tags: Physician Pain management Source Type: blogs