CDC Issues Prescribing Guidelines for Opioids

(March 28, 2016) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finalized its guidance for physicians prescribing opioids to adults for chronic pain in outpatient settings.

The new national voluntary guidelines, which are somewhat more stringent than those developed for Ohio by the Governor’s Cabinet Opioid Action Team, summarize scientific knowledge about the effectiveness and risks of long-term opioid therapy, and provide recommendations for when to initiate or continue opioids for chronic pain; opioid selection, dosage, duration, follow-up and discontinuation; and assessing risk and addressing harms of opioid use.

The guidance does not apply to cancer, palliative or end-of-life care. GCOAT staff has developed a comparison document between the Ohio and CDC Guidelines and plan to update Ohio’s guidelines as appropriate. - See the CDC Guideline: http://www.cdc.gov/media/modules/dpk/2016/dpk-pod/rr6501e1er-ebook.pdf