September 28, 2017: Sink or Swim? Helping Patients and Practitioners to Understand Opioid Potencies and Overdose Risk
Although opioids are often classified as a single group, individual agents differ in relative analgesic potency, as well as the potential risk of harm to patients. Furthermore, the availability of numerous opioid formulations, each with distinct physical and pharmacological characteristics (e.g., immediate-release oral dosage forms, long-acting oral dosage forms, topical patches, formulations for injection), adds to the difficulty of assessing potential harm.Even when the benefits and risks have been identified, practitioners may struggle with how to share this information in a meaningful manner with their patients. Few resources exist to engage and educate patients about the relative potency of their opioid therapy and the associated risks of harm. This identified gap led to the development of a communication and risk assessment tool specific to opioids. The tool, which is designed in the form of an infographic, is directed specifically to patients and their healthcare practitioners. Read more ...
