Chapter 5 Opioid medicines At a glance Recommendations In 2013–14, nearly 14 million prescriptions The Australian Government Department of were dispensed through the Pharmaceutical Health reviews the of Medicare support Benefits Scheme (PBS) for opioids – available for effective multidisciplinary medicines that relieve moderate to severe pain. treatment options and opioid These medicines are very effective in relieving dependency services, in particular for opioid acute pain and cancer pain, and in palliative prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain.. care. However, studies have shown they are also being prescribed for chronic non-cancer State and territory health departments work with pain. Current evidence does not support the primary health networks to address the barriers long-term efficacy and safety of opioid therapy in access to non-pharmacological treatments for for chronic non-cancer pain. people with chronic pain who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and those who The number of prescriptions dispensed was live in rural and regional settings. more than 10 higher in the area with the highest rate compared to the area with the State and territory health departments support lowest rate. However, even when the areas Telehealth to enhance rural and remote with the lowest and highest rates were consultations for assessment and management excluded considerable variation was still seen of chronic pain. in prescribing (2.9 times more in the areas with the highest rates than in the areas with lowest Primary health networks and the Australian rates). No apparent explanation is available Government Department of Health progress for this, although differences in access to implementation of information systems for alternative pain management options may time monitoring of opioid dispensing. be a factor.
Chapter 5 Opioid medicines At a glance In 2013–14, nearly 14 million prescriptions were dispensed through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) for opioids – medicines that relieve moderate to severe pain. These medicines are very effective in relieving acute pain and cancer pain, and in palliative care. However, studies have shown they are also being prescribed for chronic non-cancer pain. Current evidence does not support the long-term efficacy and safety of opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain. The number of prescriptions dispensed was more than 10 higher in the area with the highest rate compared to the area with the lowest rate. However, even when the areas with the lowest and highest rates were excluded considerable variation was still seen in prescribing (2.9 times more in the areas with the highest rates than in the areas with lowest rates). No apparent explanation is available for this, although differences in access to alternative pain management options may be a factor. Recommendations The Australian Government Department of Health reviews the of Medicare support available for effective multidisciplinary treatment options and opioid dependency services, in particular for opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain.. State and territory health departments work with primary health networks to address the barriers in access to non-pharmacological treatments for people with chronic pain who are socioeconomically disadvantaged and those who live in rural and regional settings. State and territory health departments support Telehealth to enhance rural and remote consultations for assessment and management of chronic pain. Primary health networks and the Australian Government Department of Health progress implementation of information systems for monitoring of opioid dispensing. time
Chapter-5-30-Nov-2015-WORD-VERSION.docx