Optimizing Pain Control During the Opioid Epidemic

The current opioid crisis has raised awareness of the risks of misuse, addiction, and overdose with opioid prescribing for pain management in the perioperative and nonoperative care of surgical patients. Despite these risks, it is essential for surgical providers to provide safe and adequate functional pain control to enhance recovery. The purpose of this review is to outline the relevance of the US opioid crisis to surgical prescribing, describe strategies for opioid reduction using a stepwise therapy approach, and provide recommendations for improving the safety of opioid prescribing. Additional recommendations for risk assessment and naloxone coprescribing for high-risk patients are addressed.