Opioid Prescribing

Opioid Prescribing

General statement on Opioids and goals in the paper

Opioids are a broad class of drugs generally used for pain-relieving, especially for chronic non-cancer pain. While they are effective pain relievers, they are associated with harm and abuse. Therefore, physicians have to weigh the benefits and the potential risks when prescribing opioids. This paper points out the effective strategies necessary to counter opioid misuse for better patient outcomes.

Summary of the Scholarly Articles

According to the article on Responsible Prescribing of Opioids for Chronic Non-Cancer Pain, the authors show that studies have shown opioids to reduce pain in CNCP. However, long-term use of the drugs has adverse effects, including disruptions on neurological, gastrointestinal, and endocrine systems (Black et al.,2020). Also, opioids are majorly associated with misuse, which produces multiple comorbidities.

There is a need for patient assessment and their pain since guidelines agree that some types of pain do not require opioids. The opioid prescription should only be done for moderate to severe pain. Therefore, guidelines recommend that while physicians determine patients suitable for long-term use of these drugs, screening for risk factors associated with opioid use is essential. Informed consent by the patient with the clinician's help helps set treatment goals and withdraw treatment plans. This will guide the treatment plan, patient outcomes, and behaviors.

Payam Sazegar, in his article, Teaching safe and responsible opioid prescribing for chronic pain, reveals that the opioid epidemic is a significant problem globally, with Canada reporting the highest number of opioid-related deaths. Teaching safe prescription of opioids n treating chronic pain remains an unmet need in many medical programs. He further points out the effective strategies while leading prescribing opioids responsibly. They include teaching patient-centered communication, providing knowledge essential to the core topic, and using electronic health records (Sazegar et al.,2020). Providing educational opportunities on medication-assisted therapy and also using prescriber data helps guide the improvement of practice.

Impact of the Scholarly Articles Information on NP

Therefore, information from these two scholarly articles will positively impact my NP practice in the future since the studies have done will guide me in safely prescribing opioids while offering effective patient-centered care. Also, I would use the opioid prescribing regulations and guidelines to ensure the effectiveness of the outcomes and prevent an opioid crisis.

How it will Improve Client Outcomes

Also, it would improve patient outcomes as the articles emphasize the need to consider safer approaches and adherence to recommendations from prescription guidelines. Multidisciplinary collaboration in treatment has demonstrated positive patient outcomes as it shapes effective opioid prescription. Lastly, screening helps determine and predict patients at risk for opioid use hence, and this will help assess patient suitability while aiming at what is best for the patient.

Summary of the General Topic

Prescription of opioids is, therefore, a critical part of healthcare practice that requires much emphasis to reduce opioid abuse, which has become a global epidemic. There is a need to implement and practice the necessary guidelines to guide prescription for positive clinical outcomes. Also, patient assessment and putting into practice the outlined strategies from the article are practical approaches to the opioid crisis. Multidisciplinary collaboration, patient screening, and effective use of prescription guidelines help develop an effective treatment plan for the effective initiation of opioid therapy. 

References

 Black, E., Khor, K. E., & Demirkol, A. (2020). Responsible prescribing of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain: a scoping review. Pharmacy, 8(3), 150.

Sazegar, P. (2020). Teaching safe and responsible opioid prescribing for chronic pain. Canadian Family Physician, 66(4), 300-302.