Article Commentary: Physical Therapists Should Play a Greater Role in Managing Patients with Opioid use and Opioid Misuse

Magel, John; Kietrys, David M.; Kruger, Eric; Fritz, Julie M.; Gordon, Adam J.

doi:10.1080/08897077.2021.1971818

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…13 We recommend that PTs routinely monitor their patients opioid dose throughout an episode of physical therapy care. 9 Our nationwide survey of physical therapists indicates that 70.0% of physical therapists report that they never or rarely ask their patients about a history of opioid misuse. 11 Routine monitoring of patients in physical therapy should also include assessing for opioid misuse.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…8 PTs, primary care providers (PCPs), addiction treatment leaders and scholars advocate that PTs should play a greater role screening and addressing patients with opioid misuse. 9,10 Indeed, in our prior work, we found that more than 89% physical therapists agree that they should play a role in managing patients with opioid misuse. 11 In the American Physical Therapy Association’s Standards of Practice for Physical Therapy, the functions of the physical therapist examination include identifying both physical therapy needs and other health needs of the patient or client.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…12 Physical therapy best practice includes a review of the patient's medications, which includes the use of opioid medications 13 and leaders in physical therapy recommend that PTs monitor the patient's dose of prescription opioids for signs of opioid misuse. 9 While PTs are well-positioned to address opioid misuse and seemingly are willing to do it, what remains unknown are the perceptions of patients regarding PTs' role in addressing opioid misuse. Patients may not appreciate or want PTs-providers not typically engaged in opioid risk assessment and mitigation-to address this potentially sensitive subject.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 Physical therapy best practice includes a review of the patient’s medications, which includes the use of opioid medications 13 and leaders in physical therapy recommend that PTs monitor the patient’s dose of prescription opioids for signs of opioid misuse. 9…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patients’ Perceptions of Physical Therapists Addressing Opioid Misuse

et al. 2023

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Introduction: In the US, rising numbers of patients who misuse illicit or prescribed opioids provides opportunities for physical therapists (PTs) to be engaged in their care. Prior to this engagement, it is necessary to understand the perceptions of patients who access physical therapy services about their PTs playing such a role. This project examined patients’ perceptions of PTs addressing opioid misuse. Methods: We surveyed patients, newly encountering outpatient physical therapy services in a large University-based healthcare setting, via anonymous, web-based survey. Within the survey, questions were rated on a Likert scale (1 = completely disagree to 7 = completely agree) and we evaluated responses of patients who were prescribed opioids versus those who were not. Results: Among 839 respondents, the highest mean score was 6.2 (SD = 1.5) for “It is OK for physical therapists to refer their patients with prescription opioid misuse to a specialist to address the opioid misuse.” The lowest mean score was 5.6 (SD = 1.9) for “It is OK for physical therapists to ask their patient why they are misusing prescription opioids.” Compared to those with no prescription opioid exposure while attending physical therapy, patients with prescription opioid exposure had lower agreement that it was OK for the physical therapist to refer their patients with opioid misuse to a specialist (β = −.33, 95% CI = −0.63 to −0.03). Conclusions: Patients attending outpatient physical therapy seem to support PTs addressing opioid misuse and there are differences in support based on whether the patients had exposure to opioids.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Patients’ Perceptions of Physical Therapists Addressing Opioid Misuse

et al. 2023

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“…All health care providers play an important role 82 . Initiation of physical therapy has been associated with a reduction in opioid use.…”

Section: Team Approach: Role-specific Interventionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Team Approach: Use of Opioids in Orthopaedic Practice

et al. 2023

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The opioid epidemic represents a serious health burden on patients across the United States. » This epidemic is particularly pertinent to the field of orthopaedics because it is one of the fields providing the highest volume of opioid prescriptions.» The use of opioids before orthopaedic surgery has been associated with decreased patient-reported outcomes, increased surgery-related complications, and chronic opioid use.» Several patient-level factors, such as preoperative opioid consumption and musculoskeletal and mental health conditions, contribute to the prolonged use of opioids after surgery, and various screening tools for identifying high-risk drug use patterns are available.» The identification of these high-risk patients should be followed by strategies aimed at mitigating opioid misuse, including patient education, opioid use optimization, and a collaborative approach between health care providers.

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The Development of an Opioid Misuse Training Program for Physical Therapists: A Learning Community Approach

Magel,

Siantz,

Blosser

et al. 2024

JOPTE

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Introduction. Musculoskeletal pain and opioid misuse frequently co-occur. Review of the Literature. The US Preventive Services Task Force calls for all health care providers to be trained to screen for misuse and/or opioid use disorder. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement an opioid misuse training program that could be used by physical therapists. Subjects. Thirteen practicing physical therapists were invited to participate in a curriculum development project. Methods. Using the Curriculum Framework, a collaborative learning approach was used to develop an opioid misuse training program and training manual for physical therapists. Four training sessions were provided virtually every 2 weeks. Topics included an introduction to the opioid crisis, screening, assessing, and communicating with patients and with the health care team about opioid misuse. Each didactic session was followed by a participant feedback session where participants provided recommendations on improving the training content and their impressions on the barriers and facilitators to incorporating the training into practice. A companion training manual was created and sent to participants for comment. Participants were asked over email to describe whether and how they incorporated training materials into clinical practice during the training curriculum. Results. All participants attended sessions 1–3. Twelve (92.3%) attended the fourth session. Based on the participants' feedback, training sessions were edited, and a companion training manual was finalized and distributed to each participant. After the fourth session, 9 participants (69.2%) reported using what they learned in the training. During the participant feedback sessions, participants regarded the training as important. Some participants expressed barriers to discussing opioids with patients and concerns about whether the training was within physical therapists' scope of practice. Discussion and Conclusion. An iteratively developed training program for physical therapists to address opioid misuse was acceptable, feasible, and provided immediate practice change by most participants.

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Article Commentary: Physical Therapists Should Play a Greater Role in Managing Patients with Opioid use and Opioid Misuse

Cited by 4 publications

References 45 publications

Patients’ Perceptions of Physical Therapists Addressing Opioid Misuse

Patients’ Perceptions of Physical Therapists Addressing Opioid Misuse

Team Approach: Use of Opioids in Orthopaedic Practice

The Development of an Opioid Misuse Training Program for Physical Therapists: A Learning Community Approach

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