CMA supports medical board efforts to address prescription opioid misuse April 16, 2014 General Medical Board of California, Drug Prescribing 0 In an effort to support the Medical Board of California’s current review and update of the board’s Guidelines for Prescribing Controlled Substances for Pain, the California Medical Association (CMA) Council on Scientific and Clinical Affairs recently completed an extensive review of existing opioid prescribing guidelines and has published a white paper that summarizes their findings, titled Prescribing Opioids: Care amid Controversy. The paper was produced by a panel of physician experts, who conducted a review of current literature, existing clinical guidelines and expert opinion in order to present an up-to-date, clinically relevant overview of opioid prescribing practice. The paper is written by physicians for prescribers to provide a balanced clinical perspective and updated guidance, as the medical board considers revisions to its guidelines. The paper addresses a variety of topics related to pain management, but is focused on the use of opioid analgesics to treat chronic pain. It is intended neither as an exhaustive review nor a standard of care, but rather summarizes established methods for appropriately prescribing opioid analgesics. “The California Medical Association appreciates the Medical Board of California’s recent efforts to address issues related to prescription drug misuse. We agree that now is an important time to review the board’s Guidelines for Prescribing Controlled Substances for Pain and have been involved in the discussion led by the board’s Prescribing Task Force,” said Richard Thorp, M.D., CMA president. “We hope that the board and the Prescribing Task Force will find Prescribing Opioids: Care amid Controversy to be a useful resource, as we believe the information will help ensure appropriate controlled substance prescribing in California.” Prescribing Opioids: Care amid Controversy complements the June 2013 CMA report, Opioid Analgesics in California: Relieving Pain, Preventing Abuse, Finding Balance, which focused on legislative and policy aspects of opioid prescribing. Both resources are available in CMA's online resource library at no charge. Contact: Scott Clark, (916) 551-2887 or sclark@cmanet.org. Comments are closed.
