New Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense Guidelines on Pain Management With Opioids: Comment and Concern

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense recently revised guidelines on prescribing opioids for the management of chronic noncancer pain. This is a timely update because the growth of opioid prescribing has been associated with parallel growth in diversion, overdose deaths, and addiction. However, clinicians will need more guidance on how to present and discuss all short- and long-term options with patients with chronic noncancer pain and on how to monitor, manage, and transition patients from the short-term to the long-term phase of pain management.

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