Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Rx Pain Medications: Prescription Pain Medication Agreement

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

One strategy for improving safe opioid prescribing is to have the patient and the health care provider enter into a prescription pain medication agreement. This sample agreement from SAMHSA can be used as is or adapted as needed.

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Payers & Providers

Rx Pain Medications: Talking to Your Patients About Opioids

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

This one page document for health care providers provides guidance about how to talk to patients about pain management and opioids.

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Payers & Providers

Rx Pain Medications: Prescribing Opioids: Reduce the Risk

Source: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)

This one page document for health care providers lists the facts about opioid use disorder and provides suggestions for how providers can reduce the use and misuse of opioids and reduce overdoses.

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Payers & Providers

Prescribing Opioids for Women of Reproductive Age: Information for Dentists

Source: National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center

This 4 page briefing paper provides information for dentists about prescribing opioids for women of reproductive age and women who are pregnant. It includes information about neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome and provides guidelines for prescribing opioids for dental care providers. A six page version is also available.

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Payers & Providers

Improving Opioid Prescribing

Source: National Institute on Drug Abuse

This 2 page briefing document provides guidance on improving opioid prescribing for health care providers. It emphasizes the importance health care providers in addressing the overdose epidemic by improving their understanding of pain management, improving the use of opioids for chronic pain treatment,

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Policymakers & Community Leaders
Payers & Providers

A Systematic Review of Strategies to Improve Appropriate Use of Opioids and to Reduce Opioid Use Disorder and Deaths from Prescription Opioids

Source: Andrewa D. Furlan, et al.

This Canadian systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature identifies successful strategies to improve appropriate use of prescription opioids while reducing misuse, abuse, and diversion of medications. They identified 66 distinct strategies implemented in health systems, government or public health

External Website
Payers & Providers
Patients & Caregivers

Risks of Benzodiazepines

Source: College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists

This 2019 publication from the College of Psychiatric and Neurologic Pharmacists lists the risks of benzodiazepine medications. Benzodiazepines may be prescribed for anxiety, insomnia, or other conditions, but the medications have serious side effects, most notably that patients can become dependent on the

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