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December 24, 2014
PCPs Report They Are Less Likely to Prescribe Opioids
Than a Year Ago

Baltimore—Almost half of primary care physicians answering a recent survey said they are less likely to prescribe opioids for pain now than a year ago, according to a new research letter.

In addition, 90% of the respondents described prescription drug abuse as a moderate or big problem in their communities, and 85% said the drugs are overused in clinical practice, according to the report published recently in JAMA Internal Medicine.

The study, which was led by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, noted that primary care doctors have become cognizant of the many risks of prescription opioid use, including addiction and death by overdose.

“Our findings suggest that primary care providers have become aware of the scope of the prescription opioid crisis and are responding in ways that are important, including reducing their overreliance on these medicines,” explained study leader G. Caleb Alexander, MD, MS, an associate professor of epidemiology. The health care community has long been part of the problem and now they appear to be part of the solution to this complex epidemic.”

For the study, researchers conducted a nationally representative mail survey of practicing internists, family physicians and general practitioners, sending out 1,000 questionnaires and receiving about a 50% response rate.

Many of the participants reported that they are “very” or “moderately” concerned about serious risks of opioid overuse such as addiction (55% “very concerned”), death (48%) and motor vehicle crashes (44%). The physicians also said they believe that adverse events, such as tolerance (62%) and physical dependence (56%) occur “often,” even when the medications are used as directed for chronic pain.

At the same time, the vast majority of the physicians surveyed (88%) expressed confidence in their own ability to prescribe opioids appropriately.

Alexander noted that surveying physicians about their attitudes, beliefs, and experiences is useful, but research using pharmacy data is needed to confirm the degree to which prescribers’ reliance on prescription opioids is actually decreasing.

U.S. Pharmacist Social Connect