News Report | March 24, 2019
CDC’s Opioid Guideline For Chronic Pain Often Misapplied
Following the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issuance of its opioid prescribing guidelines in early 2016, payers, provider organizations, and physicians misapplied the guidelines to the detriment of people with chronic non-cancer pain by requiring involuntary dose reduction or discontinuation. Among its recommendations, the CDC prescribing guidelines directed that opioids should rarely be a first option for chronic pain, that clinical professionals must carefully weigh the risks and benefits of maintaining opioids for people already taking them, and it directed that established or transferring consumers should be offered the opportunity to re-evaluate their continued use at . . .