Chronic pain is common in the U.S., with anywhere from 11% to 40% of the adult population reporting daily pain.1 Approximately one-third of patients experiencing pain receive a pain medication.2 While the number of prescriptions for pain management have declined in recent years3, opioid misuse remains a significant public health crisis. Roughly 21-29% of patients who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will misuse them.4
This increase leads to a rise in opioid overdoses—at least half are attributed to prescription medications—and morbidity and mortality. Numerous groups—including the AAFP, other medical societies, the National Academy of Medicine and the U.S. Congress—are emphasizing the need to improve chronic pain care.
The Chronic Pain Management Toolkit is broken into sections to help you address specific gaps in your practice flow, standardize evaluation and treatment, discuss pain management goals, and identify at-risk patients.
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of chronic pain and high-impact chronic pain among adults — United States, 2016. MMWR. 2018;67(36):1001-1006.
2. Harrison JM, Lagisetty P, Sites BD. Trends in prescription pain medication use by race/ethnicity among US adults with noncancer pain, 2000-2015. Am J Public Health. 2018;108(6):788-790.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. opioid dispensing rate maps. Accessed January 7, 2021. www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/maps/rxrate-maps.html#:~:text=The%20overall%20national%20opioid%20dispensing%20rate%20declined%20from%202012%20to,than%20153%20million%20opioid%20prescriptions
4. National Institute on Drug Abuse. Opioid overdose crisis. Accessed January 7, 2021. www.drugabuse.gov/drug-topics/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis