Clinical e-Audit

The management of chronic non-cancer pain remains a major challenge for general practitioners. Opioids can play an important role in the management of pain and can be beneficial to some patients. However, there are increasing concerns about their use and safety, especially for the management of chronic non-cancer pain. Recent data suggest that on average, 3 Australians die per day from drug-induced deaths involving opioid use.¹

This Clinical e-Audit will guide you to:

• reconsider the role of opioids in the management of chronic non-cancer pain
• review each patient to assess the need for ongoing opioid treatment as part of a multimodal approach to chronic non-cancer pain management
• identify patients who may benefit from an opioid taper trial and implement strategies to optimise success
• know when and where to refer patients with more complex needs for specialist and support services.

Our Clinical e-Audits are free quality improvement activities that help GPs review their current prescribing practice for patients with certain conditions, compared with current best practice guidelines.

What’s involved:

• completing electronic data collection for 7 patients
• submitting de-identified data securely online
• reflecting on immediate patient-specific feedback to help you optimise your practice
• reviewing individual and peer feedback results, based on achievement of best practice clinical indicators
• recording progress of individual patients identified for review
• reflecting on improvements in your practice.

Participation in this activity will help you:

• Recognise the limited role of opioid treatment in patients with chronic non-cancer pain
• Develop a management plan with the patient, incorporating a multimodal approach and the criteria for success and failure
• Identify patients where an opioid taper should be considered
• Select and refer patients who would benefit from referral to specialist service

You will

• have access to a summary of best practice recommendations
• receive practical advice to provide to your patients
• create an individualised management plan for each patient
• receive immediate feedback and be able to compare your results with those of your peers.

Expert commentary by Dr Symon McCallum, MBChB, FANZCA, FFPMANZCA

Symon brings insight from his experience as a pain specialist and anaesthetist, consulting widely across Victoria and Tasmania for the Precision Brain, Spine and Pain Centre.

• Refer to the Clinical e-Audit frequently asked questions for more information
  
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