AACC Releases Practice Guidelines for Using Laboratory Drug Tests to Combat Opioid Addiction, Overdoses
Association for Diagnostic and Laboratory Medicine (ADLM (formerly AACC))WASHINGTON – AACC has issued a new guideline detailing how healthcare providers can use laboratory tests to manage treatment of pain and prevent prescription drug overdoses. Especially relevant in light of the worsening opioid epidemic, the guideline emphasizes increased collaboration between clinicians and laboratory experts as well as the use of more precise drug tests as key to identifying pain patients who are abusing their opioid prescriptions.