How Can Physicians Prevent The Problem?

Educate Yourself & Staff
Educate Your Patients
Establish & Follow Effective Procedures

Educate Yourself & Staff

Know the types of prescriptions drugs that are most often problematic, and the associated toxicities and withdrawal risks. Resources for medical professionals such as Commonly Prescribed Medications: Uses and Consequences and Prescription Drug Abuse Chart, or Antidepressants and Antiepileptic Drugs for Chronic Non-cancer Patients (AAFP) are handy references. 

The DEA Information on your state’s trends can keep you and your office current with drug trends in your area as well as trends associated with vulnerable target groups.

Also helpful are the Resources for Physicians as well as the More Information about Prescription Drugs section of this website. 

 

Educate Your Patients

Research shows that patients minimize or are ignorant of the potential dangers of their prescription drugs.  They are also often unwitting “drug suppliers,” unaware they needto safeguard their drugs.  Misused prescription drugs are most often accessed from friends and family.

Patients may not understand that sharing drugs with others isa felony and can harm the person they are trying to help.  Download and distribute Are your Prescriptions Safe? Patients also need information regarding any drug being prescribed for them.  As We Age materials were designed for elderly patients. Click here for additional resources for patients. 

 

Establish & Follow Effective Procedures

Standardize effective office procedures
The manuals below were designed for physicians and can be downloaded. These comprehensive manuals include instructions for office staff, algorithms to guide pain treatment, screening tools and forms, models for patient contracts, and other useful information. Also helpful are Suggested Policies to Prevent Misuse/Diversion

The Opioid Prescribing Tool Kit was created by Nathaniel Katz, MD, MS of Tufts University School of Medicine. Click on any item in the table of contents to browse the document.

The Pain Care Resource Manual was created by Berkshire Health Systems, Inc as a guide for health care practitioners.  Click on any item in the table of contents to browse the document.

Screen and Assess
Screening and Assessment are reimbursable procedures and effective in assessing and managing risk. 

CPT	Services	Medicare
99408	15 - 30 minutes	G0396
99409	30+ minutes	G0397

 

 

 

What are some of the screening and assessment tools available? Which are best suited to your practice?  See How can physicians identify the problem?

Review and revise procedures

Routine policies and practices will need to be reviewed, and revised based on experience.  Establish a set time frame for this with staff.

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