The Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care (ACSQHC) is urging medical practitioners in Australia to reevaluate how opioid therapy is presently administered. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s 2016-2017 figures, more than three million individuals receive at least one opioid prescription each year. While opioids are helpful in relieving pain, long-term usage can result in significant adverse effects such as addiction and unintentional overdose. The ACSQHC has released the Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care Standard, which outlines how emergency and surgery aftercare personnel should utilize opioids. The new guideline encourages clinicians to utilize non-opioid pain relievers wherever feasible and to set up an aftercare program to help patients wean themselves off opioids. Anne Duggan, Honorary Professor at the University of Newcastle and ACSQHC Chief Medical Officer, stated in a commission press … Continue reading Australia Begins Setting Up Patient Aftercare Programs To Combat The Opioid Epidemic.