Healthcare providers face many difficulties when prescribing controlled substances for chronic pain and other medical conditions. Timely and appropriate treatment of pain can improve function and quality of life for patients. However, commonly prescribed medications such as opiates pose the risk of addiction and other adverse outcomes. The pressure to treat patient’s symptoms aggressively, coupled with current public health problems such as rising drug overdose rates, create a major dilemma for healthcare providers. Determining which patients could benefit from prescribed controlled substances and which patients could be harmed by taking these medications is not always easy. Discussing recent Tennessee state guidelines and evidence-based literature evaluating safe prescribing practices can be very beneficial to both healthcare providers and patients.
Many people suffer from illnesses that are treated with controlled substances. Severe chronic pain can deeply affect function and quality of life. Clinicians face a difficult task of appropriate management in improving symptoms, function, and quality of life while at the same time minimizing adverse effects, addiction, and overall safety of their patients. Long-term treatment with controlled substances can lead to adverse effects making it imperative that clinicians can recognize signs of these, along with misuse and abuse. Reviewing national and state guidelines regarding responsible treatment of controlled substances is vital to all clinicians who prescribe these medications. Many state licensing boards have already or will require healthcare professionals to complete mandated courses pertaining to controlled substances. This course will teach healthcare providers the most current guidelines on safe and responsible treatment of chronic illness with controlled substances.
