Advocacy
MoCEP Joins MHA in Developing Guidelines for Prescribing Narcotics in the ED
POSTED: December 4th, 2015
POSTED IN: Advocacy,
On December 1, the Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) released a guideline about prescribing opioids in the Emergency Department. MoCEP along with other state organizations assisted in the development of this guideline. While MoCEP still supports the development of a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and an increase in Addiction Medicine resources, MoCEP believes this guideline can serve as a step in the right process. We hope this guideline will empower providers to only prescribe opioids when they feel it is appropriate and in quantities that they feel are appropriate. We also hope this guideline can assist patients in setting realistic expectations about what we can do in the Emergency Department to treat their pain. Importantly, this guideline still gives providers the support to prescribe opioids when they feel that they are indicated and does not advocate undertreating a patient’s pain. In addition to these guidelines, MoCEP is developing a companion piece to further address prescribing opioids in the Emergency Department.
More information about these recommendations can be found here.
National Public Radio also ran a piece about this guideline.
In addition, more information can be found at Missouri Health Matters.