Identifying Patients with Addiction
With the opioid epidemic on the rise, it can be difficult for physicians to determine which patients are in legitimate need of pain relief and which are not. The more credible a patient may appear, the tougher it may be to identify drug-seeking behavior. Various methods can be used to determine if someone is seeking drugs, and being aware of these indicators may be beneficial for both the physician, their practice and their patient in the long-term.
This article outlines ways to find out if the patient may be showing symptoms of addiction and how to mitigate the situation by:
- Collecting facts through PDMP and EMR data
- Observing tell-tale behavioral signs
- Preventing causes that lead to opioid addiction in the first plac