Opioid Safety: We Are Not There Yet

Opioids are highly effective in acute pain control; however, their use for the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain is controversial. Chronic opioid use is associated with several side effects that include and are not limited to tolerance, dependence, and hyperalgesia. Opioid prescription drug overdose is at a national epidemic status in the USA. It is estimated that a prescription drug overdose death occurs every 19 min. Several national and state interventions have been implemented to address the staggering statistics of increased deaths due to opioid overdose. The recently released Center of Disease Control (CDC) practice guidelines are designed to improve physician patient communication and avoid opioid prescription drug overdose. In this chapter, we will review some of the recent guidelines for opioid prescribing and the current efforts in place to address this epidemic.