Balancing Therapy and Harm: Treating Pain and the Opioid Epidemic

Pain is the most frequent symptom that brings patients to seek health care. Untreated pain leads to suffering, decreased quality of life, and increased health care spending. Opioids are effective analgesics, with a known mechanism of action, that are part of the pain management toolkit. However, it is well-known that we now face an epidemic of opioid abuse and overdose. This mandates that health care systems have policies and guidelines in place that address when to prescribe opioids, how to prescribe them, and how to monitor for signs of misuse. It is important that health care systems provide a full range of non-opioid interventions for pain and for treatment of people who develop opioid use disorder.

This webinar outlines the details of pain management today and strategies payers can take to help their providers address the opioid crisis with actionable plans.