| Description |
Opioid abuse has become a major public health concern. The prescribing and use of opioids has significantly increased over the last decade. Some of this increase is related to an attempt to more adequately treat and manage pain. With increased prescribing, there is a greater number of narcotics in circulation, and therefore, an increased potential for said narcotics to land in the hands of those who are drug-seeking or abusing narcotics such as opioids. Furthermore, over prescribing of narcotics, specifically opioids, has been linked to negative patient outcomes including dependence, overdose, diversion, and death. "This predicament calls for responsible prescribing by the physician community, and the need for serious and earnest efforts to decrease abuse" (Atluri, Akbik, & Sudarshan, 2012, p. ES177). In this literature review, research from 2000 to 2014 was analyzed, and subsequently, it revealed that the use of screening tools and controlled substance databases by providers can be helpful but need to be updated to show statistically significant improvement. We conducted a qualitative survey of Nurse Practitioners and Physician's Assistants at a Utah conference in the summer of 2014, which revealed congruence in the need for clinician's use of screening tools and a controlled substance database. Data shows there is a clear need for safer prescribing practices, the difficulty lies in finding a universal solution. Real-time data collection, uploading, and access have been shown to be major barriers to prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs). Easy and quick access of databases and tools are needed, as well as further education of safer practices for providers and patients. |
