C.O. task force adopts state’s painkiller guidelines

The Central Oregon Pain Standards Task Force announced Tuesday it has formally adopted the Oregon Health Authority’s Acute Pain Guidelines.

These guidelines are aimed at patients who are new to opioids, receiving care from dentists, those in emergency room and urgent care settings, primary care physicians, as well as individuals in post procedure/surgical care. They are not intended for patients who are currently taking opioids or for those with a history of substance use disorder, the task force said in a news release.

In 2015, the Central Oregon health care community established the Pain Standards Task Force (a division of the Central Oregon Health Council’s Provider Engagement Panel) with a goal to help clinicians working in surgical, dental, primary care, emergency and urgent care settings make evidence-based prescribing decisions.

The task force is working with medical providers to adopt the new standards, raise awareness of the risks to patients and introduce other forms of acute pain management treatments that are just as effective — and safer.

“Opioid pain-killers are effective medications for acute pain management; however, there are other forms of pain management that are safer and just as effective,” said Kim Swanson, Ph.D., chair of the Pain Standards Task Force.

“Clinicians and patients alike often underestimate the effectiveness and benefits of alternative treatments to opioid painkillers. Patients are often prescribed more opioid painkillers than they use, and this leaves a supply of unused opioids in medicine cabinets that could be stolen or misused.”

In general, guidelines advise against using opioids as the first line of therapy for mild to moderate pain. While opioid painkillers are effective for treating acute pain, they are powerful and come with many risks.

Many patients prescribed opioids for acute pain can become dependent on opioids long-term. If opioid painkillers are deemed appropriate, the new guidelines advise the lowest effective dose of short-acting opioids be prescribed for not more than three days in most cases, and no more than seven days in cases of more severe acute pain.

The goal of the task force in adopting Oregon Health Authority Acute Prescribing Guidelines is to reduce the epidemic of prescription drug overdoses in Central Oregon by providing better and more effective pain management. This includes alternative or lower dose medications, acupuncture, physical medicine, better patient education, osteopathic medicine and other treatments.

The full guidelines can be found on the OHA website https://www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/PREVENTIONWELLNESS/SUBSTANCEUSE/OPIOIDS/Pages/task-force.aspx