Healthy Interventions
Pain Management & Opioid Abuse Resources
Chronic pain represents a substantial public health issue with tremendous economic, social, and medical costs. As the percentage of the U.S. population utilizing opioid analgesics for pain control grows, so do the rates of abuse, misuse, and overdose of these drugs. The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recognizes the seriousness of the prescription drug abuse problem in the United States. As a medical organization, we must address the ongoing public health responsibility to provide adequate pain management.
The AAFP is actively working toward addressing pain managment and opioid abuse problems in the U.S. through advocacy, collaboration, and education.
Opioid Abuse Support
- National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA) Addiction Performance -- This online tool, developed in cooperation with the AAFP, may help you identify and help drug-abusing patients.
- Providers' Clinical Support System for Opioid Therapies (PCSS-O) Modules
- Stop the Stigma of Substance Abuse - Read the AMA's Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse education piece about reducing the stigma of opioid abuse
- Stakeholders Consensus Document on Prescribing and Dispensing Controlled Substances
- American Medical Association's Task Force to Reduce Opioid Abuse: Take advantage of this important education piece developed by the task force on prescribing naloxone.
Practice Improvement
- Basics of Quality Improvement - Learn more about and implement quality improvement.
- AAFP position paper: Opioid and Pain Management
- National Take-back Initiative
- The North American Syringe Exchange Network - The North American Syringe Exchange Network is provided as a public health information resource. Please inform yourself about local laws and regulations before participating in syringe exchange services.
- Up and Away Campaign- The AAFP is a partner of this CDC campaign aimed at keeping drugs out of the reach of children.
- AAFP position paper: Pain Management and Opioid Abuse: A Public Health Concern
- The AMA and AAFP Urge Removing All Barriers to Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
- NIH's National Pain Strategy - Physician education on pain treatment.
- Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies/Prescription Drug Abuse - The AAFP works with a number of federal agencies to develop policies that reduce the risk of prescription drug misuse, while allowing for the appropriate, medically supervised treatment of debilitating, chronic pain. See recent letters of recommendations to lawmakers.
- AAFP position paper: Pain Management and Opioid Abuse: A Public Health Concern
- AAFP Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain
- Choosing Wisely™ for Low Back Pain
- Read a FP Essentials™ edition on Chronic Pain Management, free for AAFP members (log-in required)
- Access OpioidPrescribing.com, offered by Boston University School of Medicine
- Help fight the current opioid misuse and abuse epidemic with free Physician Clinical Support System Medication-Assisted Treatment (PCSS-MAT) buprenorphine waiver training.
For Your Patients
FamilyDoctor.org is the AAFP patient education website featuring trusted, reliable health information. Read more about pain management and opioid abuse at familydoctor.org.