New Opioid Guidelines Posted for Comment

The Washington state Department of Labor & Industries is accepting comments for the rest of the month on updated guidelines covering the use of opioid painkillers. "While the earlier guidelines focused on how prescribers could safely and effectively prescribe and manage chronic opioid analgesic therapy, more recent data suggests that the focus should also be on preventing the inappropriate transition from acute and sub-acute opioid use to chronic opioid use and to avoid COAT altogether when other alternatives for treating pain may be equally effective and safer in the long run,&q...