Reducing Opioid Misuse among Adolescents through Physician Education

Abstract

Increased prescribing of opioids has been associated with an epidemic of nonmedical prescription opioid use in the United States; adolescents and young adults are particularly vulnerable to opioid misuse. The role of physicians as health care providers, educators, and confidants for their adolescent patients equips them to intervene in adolescent opioid misuse. The authors advocate for improving the education of physicians and residents regarding opioid use and misuse among adolescents. To achieve this, we can require residency education that includes opioid misuse and appropriate prescribing, widely disseminate existing resources on management of pain and opioid misuse, and develop pain management and addiction mentorship programs.

Opioid prescribing patterns among otolaryngologists: Crucial insights among the medicare population

“…Among most programs offering such education, the time dedicated was only an hour. Strengthening the amount and quality of educational resources aimed at appropriate opioid prescription may be an important consideration for minimizing the unnecessary prescription and subsequent misuse of these medications …”

“…Strengthening the amount and quality of educational resources aimed at appropriate opioid prescription may be an important consideration for minimizing the unnecessary prescription and subsequent misuse of these medications. [18][19][20] Another finding highlighting a lack of consensus was significant geographic discrepancy (Fig. 2).…”

Opioid Prescribing to Adolescents in the United States From 2005 to 2016

“…Rarely, some adolescents may have chronic conditions, including cancer, for which opioids are prescribed for longer-term use. Adolescents may be more susceptible than adults to misuse of prescribed opioid medications (8).…”

“…The CDC guidelines further recommend that adult prescriptions for acute pain should be limited to the expected duration of pain severe enough to require opioids (typically no more than three days) to minimize abuse and diversion (9). Both the CDC guidelines and other literature indicate that opioids should be prescribed to adolescents more cautiously than to older age groups because of a lack of studies testing efficacy in this population and because teens are at a critical window of vulnerability for substance use disorders (8,9).…”

A Biopsychosocial Overview of the Opioid Crisis: Considering Nutrition and Gastrointestinal Health

“…Legislative efforts at the State level to close “pill mills” have had little discernable impact in reducing opioid use (35). Other recommendations to tighten control include protocols to ensure authenticity of the prescription source, adding additional abuse detection steps, and practices for returning unused drugs (36), as well as more physician education during residency training (37). While it is hopeful that policy interventions can reduce overdose and death, solutions to control illegal heroin coming into the country are less obvious and fall under the jurisdiction of the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).…”