CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain

Many Americans suffer from chronic pain. These patients deserve safe and effective pain management. Prescription opioids can help manage some types of pain in the short term.

However, we don’t have enough information about the benefits of opioids long term, and we know that there are serious risks of opioid use disorder and overdose—particularly 249M prescriptions for opioid pain medication were written by healthcare providers in 2013 enough prescriptions were written for every American adult to have a bottle of pills with high dosages and long-term use.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed the CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain (Guideline) for primary care clinicians treating adult patients for chronic pain in outpatient settings. The Guideline is not intended for patients who are  in active cancer treatment, palliative care, or end-of-life care. The Guideline was developed to:

• Improve communication between clinicians and patients about the benefits and risks of using prescription opioids for chronic pain
• Provide safer, more effective care for patients with chronic pain
• Help reduce opioid use disorder and overdose

The Guideline provides recommendations to primary care clinicians about the appropriate prescribing of opioids to improve pain management and patient safety. 

It will:

• Help clinicians determine if and when to start prescription opioids for chronic pain
• Give guidance about medication selection, dose, and duration, and when and how to reassess progress, and discontinue medication if needed
• Help clinicians and patients—together—assess the benefits and risks of prescription opioid use.