The Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care released a new toolkit to prevent opioid overdoses through improved stewardship programs.
Here's what you should know.
1. The toolkit can help providers review and assess opioid prescriptions and dosages to mitigate overdose risk.
2. The toolkit addresses primary and surgical care providers' concerns while addressing best practices and guidelines. The kit includes:
- Prescriber resources for calculating opioid safe dosage
- An assessment tool for gauging patient pain and function
- Primary care checklist when considering long-term opioid therapy and reassessment
- Surgical care checklist when addressing acute post-surgical/procedural pain
- Tips for discussing pain management options with patients
3. AAAHC Institute Vice President and Senior Director Naomi Kuznets, PhD, said in a release, "To address the opioid epidemic, we must go to one of sources of the problem – provider prescribing. We want to inform providers on the causes behind chronic opioid use and overdose, and present research-based guidelines on prescribing safer dosage."
For more information, click here.