Ethics of Opioid Prescriber Regulations: Physicians, Patients, and Pain.

BACKGROUND: Opioid addiction affects patients of every race, sex, and socioeconomic status. Overprescribing is a known cause of the opioid crisis. Various agencies have implemented requirements and programs to combat practitioner overprescribing; however, there can be adverse ethical consequences when regulations are used to influence physician behavior. We aimed to explore the ethical aspects of some of these interventions. METHODS: We reviewed various interventions for opioid prescribing through the lens of ethical inquiry. Specifically, we evaluated (1) requirements for educational programs for prescribers and patients, (2) prescription monitoring programs, (3) prescription limits, (4) development of condition-specific pain management guidelines, (5) increased utilization of naloxone, and (6) opioid disposal programs. We also evaluated patient satisfaction survey questions relating to pain. RESULTS: The present analysis demonstrated that the following regulatory interventions are ethically sound: requirements for educational programs for prescribers and patients, robust prescription monitoring programs that cross state lines, increased prescribing of naloxone for at-risk patients, development of condition-specific pain management guidelines, improvement of opioid disposal programs, and elimination of pain-control questions from patient satisfaction surveys. However, implementation of strict prescribing limits without accommodation for procedure and patient characteristics may have negative ethical consequences. CONCLUSIONS: Although the importance of addressing the current opioid crisis cannot be understated, as surgeons, we must examine ethical implications of any new regulations that affect musculoskeletal patient care.

Disciplining virtue: investigating the discourses of opioid addiction in nursing.

Two nurses diagnosed with opioid addiction launched legal action after being found guilty of unprofessional conduct due to addiction-related behaviors. When covered by the media, their cases sparked both public and legal controversies. We are curious about the broader discursive framings that led to these strong reactions, and analyze the underlying structures of knowledge and power that shape the issue of opioid addiction in the profession of nursing through a critical discourse analysis of popular media, legal blogs and hearing tribunals. We argue that addiction in nursing is framed as personal choice, as a failure in the moral character of the nurses, as decontextualized from addiction as disease arguments, and as an individualized issue devoid of contextual factors leading to addiction. Our investigation offers a critical case study of a nursing regulatory body that upheld popular assumptions of addiction as an autonomous, rational choice replete with individual-based consequences - a framing that is inconsistent with evidence-based practice in health-care. We put forth this critical interrogation to open up possibilities for counterdiscourses that may promote more nuanced and effective responses to the issue of addiction in nursing.

La recuperación del consumo farmacéutico tras la modificación del copago: evidencia de un servicio regional de salud / Prescription drug consumption recovery following the co-payment change: Evidence from a regional health service

OBJETIVOS: El objetivo de este estudio es evaluar el efecto de las políticas de copago farmacéutico en la cantidad y la tendencia de consumo de medicamentos. DISEÑO: Estudio observacional retrospectivo. Emplazamiento: Región de Murcia. Prescripción de medicamentos en atención primaria y especializada. PARTICIPANTES: Registros correspondientes a las recetas dispensadas por las oficinas de farmacia entre enero del 2008 y diciembre del 2013. MÉTODO: Análisis de regresión lineal segmentada de series temporales de consumo de medicamentos expresado en número de envases y dosis por 1.000 habitantes-día (DHD), con un análisis diferenciado de los cinco grupos terapéuticos de mayor consumo. RESULTADOS: La dispensación de los 5 grupos terapéuticos analizados disminuyó inmediatamente después de la introducción de los cambios en el copago. El modelo de regresión segmentada indicó que la tasa de consumo en los beneficiarios pensionistas del SMS habría disminuido un 6,76% (IC del 95%, -8,66% a -5,19%) 12 meses después de la reforma, en comparación con la ausencia de una política de este tipo. Por otro lado, la pendiente de crecimiento del consumo se incrementó de 6,08 (p < 0,001) a 12,17 (p = 0,019). CONCLUSIONES: La aplicación de los cambios en la política de copago se podría asociar con una disminución significativa de las tasas de consumo de medicamentos en la Región de Murcia, pero parece que con un efecto temporal limitado en los grupos terapéuticos analizados, ya que de manera casi simultánea se ha producido un aumento en la tendencia de crecimiento

OBJECTIVES: In the past few decades, increasing pharmaceutical expenditures in Spain and other western countries led to the adoption of reforms in order to reduce this trend. The aim of our study was to analyze if reforms concerning the pharmaceutical reimbursement scheme in Spain have been associated with changes in the volume and trend of pharmaceutical consumption. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: Region of Murcia. Prescription drug in primary care and external consultations. PARTICIPANTS: Records of prescribed medicines between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2013. Method: Segmented regression analysis of interrupted time-series of prescription drug consumption. RESULTS: Dispensing of all five therapeutic classes fell immediately after co-payment changes. The segmented regression model suggested that per patient drug consumption in pensioners may have decreased by about 6.76% (95% CI; -8.66% to -5.19%) in the twelve months after the reform, compared with the absence of such a policy. Furthermore the slope of the series of consumption increased from 6.08(P<.001) to 12.17 (P<.019). CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of copayment policies could be associated with a significant decrease in the level of prescribed drug use in Murcia Region, but this effect seems to have been only temporary in the five therapeutic groups analyzed, since almost simultaneously there has been an increase in the growth trend

Responsible opioid use.

Editor's Note The journal is delighted to introduce a new feature in this issue that focuses on the complex and multifaceted issue of managing pain and related symptoms while responsibly attending to minimizing substance abuse. How should the seemingly disparate disciplines of drug abuse and symptom control interact? Should these be two separate fields or should practitioners/investigators in one also be qualified in the other? Is that even feasible? We are honored to have two leading, academically based clinician scientists coordinating this new feature. Peggy Compton is Professor and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at the School of Nursing & Health Studies, Georgetown University in Washington, DC. Many readers know of Peggy's work from her years on the faculty of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). Peggy brings both clinical and scientific addictionology expertise as well as the invaluable perspective of nursing to this arena. Her collaborator is Michael F. Weaver. Mike is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Medical Director of the Center for Neurobehavioral Research on Addictions, at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston. Prior to moving to Texas, Dr. Weaver became internationally known for his work in addiction medicine at the Medical College of Virginia. We look forward to detailed explorations of many interacting issues in symptom control and substance abuse in the articles featured in this new journal feature in coming issues. The commentary below, the article by Kanouse and Compton, the Issue Brief issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and my editorial, all of which appear in this journal issue, introduce the new feature, which I am confident will make valuable contributions to the pain management and substance abuse literature. Arthur G. Lipman, Editor ABSTRACT Abusers of prescription opioids represent two distinct populations: those who develop addiction via opioids prescribed for pain, and those for whom prescription opioids represent a primary drug of abuse. Regardless of the pathway to abuse, outcomes for patients with untreated opioid addiction are poor, and consideration of the contextual factors surrounding their problematic use is critical to effective treatment. Reviewed are patterns of prescription opioid abuse among particularly vulnerable populations in underserved rural communities, and in an effort to prevent problematic use, principles of responsible opioid prescription for chronic pain are outlined so as to decrease the risk for developing addiction.