Newswise — CHICAGO, Nov. 25, 2014 -- Assuring appropriate drug theory is important for effective pain management, and a new study published in The Journal of Pain reported that use of a short compliance checklist by clinicians can best identify individuals most likely to misuse prescription pain medications.

The Journal of Pain is the peer-review publication of the American Pain Society (APS, www.americanpainsociety.org).

Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital developed and validated a brief self-administered compliance checklist for long-term opioid therapy in patients with chronic pain. Currently, there are no widely accepted assessments for monitoring ongoing opioid therapy adherence, and few studies have attempted to link self-report variables with objective evidence of prescription drug misuse.

For the study, a 12-item Opioid Compliance Checklist was repeatedly administered to 157 patients taking opioids for chronic pain who participated in the investigation and were followed for six months.

Results showed that five items best predicted subsequent aberrant drug behaviors. They are:• Lost or misplaced medications• Ran out of pain medication early• Missed scheduled doctor appointments• Used any illegal or unauthorized substances• Not been completely honest about personal drug use

Data collected on the sample of patients with chronic pain suggest these five items may be useful in identifying potential for drug misuse and in determining appropriateness of continued treatment.

“We were surprised at how powerfully a brief checklist that reflects how patients comply with parts of an opioid agreement can predict future misuse of opioids,” stated lead author, Robert Jamison, PhD, professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Psychiatry, Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

About the American Pain Society Based in Chicago, the American Pain Society (APS) is a multidisciplinary community that brings together a diverse group of scientists, clinicians and other professionals to increase the knowledge of pain and transform public policy and clinical practice to reduce pain-related suffering. APS was founded in 1978 with 510 charter members. From the outset, the group was conceived as a multidisciplinary organization. The Board of Directors includes physicians, nurses, psychologists, basic scientists, pharmacists, policy analysts and others. For more information on APS, visit www.americanpainsociety.org.

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