Oregon Pain Guidance

Introduction

For the past few decades, a conceptual shift has taken place regarding the treatment of chronic pain. Opioids have been encouraged for the treatment of all types of pain. In particular, chronic non-cancer pain was suggested as a treatable condition necessitating long-acting medications, without solid scientific evidence supporting that practice. As a society, we are reaping the consequences of that change in prescribing habits with an increase in opioid dependency, accidental drug overdoses, and heroin use. The expectation on the part of the public that there is a pill to be prescribed for any discomfort is harder to quantify but no less important.^1,2,3