Journal of Pain Research (Oct 2021)
Pain Management and Opioid Therapy: Persistent Knowledge Gaps Among Primary Care Providers
Abstract
Chad Williamson,1 Barbara J Martin,2 Charles Argoff,3 Christopher Gharibo,4 Bill McCarberg,5 Timothy Atkinson,6 Leanne Berger,1 Thomas Sullivan1 1Rockpointe, Columbia, MD, USA; 2Independent Consultant Physician/Writer, Lancaster, PA, USA; 3Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA; 4New York University School of Medicine, New York City, NY, USA; 5University of California, San Diego, CA, USA; 6Veteran’s Administration Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, USACorrespondence: Chad WilliamsonRockpointe, 1760 Russet Hill Circle, Hoover, AL, 35244, USATel +1-205-266-5568Email [email protected]: Given the opioid epidemic in the US, it is vital that clinicians who prescribe opioids for pain management to do so in an evidence-based manner, eg considering all pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic options, assessing risk of opioid use disorder prior to initiating opioids. Continuing education regarding the evidence-based prescribing of opioids is now required for US healthcare providers who prescribe opioids. A “blueprint” of the content to be included in continuing education programs was developed by the US Food and Drug Administration and updated in 2018.Methods: To understand the baseline knowledge and confidence of healthcare professionals in prescribing opioids for pain management, we posed 27 unique knowledge-based questions and 1 confidence question to clinician participants before or during 2 continuing educational programs that were based respectively on the 2016 and 2018 FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) educational blueprints for pain management.Results: Overall, 5571 clinicians completed these programs, including 1925 physicians (1516 [79%] identifying as primary care), 1181 physician assistants, 737 advanced practice nurses, 719 nurses, and 479 pharmacists. Responses to pretest questions in both programs indicated profound and persistent gaps in knowledge, particularly in definitions and mechanisms of pain, general principles of pharmacologic analgesic therapy, and specific aspects of opioid analgesic therapy and addiction. Participants in both programs also expressed limited confidence in their abilities to incorporate patient engagement techniques into pain management or develop a treatment plan for a patient with chronic pain.Discussion: These data support an ongoing need for comprehensive clinician-based education as outlined in the FDA REMS educational blueprint, especially given recent data of escalating overdose deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords: analgesics, opioid, chronic pain, pain management, opioid-related disorders, primary health care, continuing medical education, CME, risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, REMS
