Prolonged Cessation of Chronic Opioid Analgesic Therapy: A Multidisciplinary Intervention

ABSTRACT

Am J Manag Care. 2022;28(2)60-65. https//doi.org/10.37765/ajmc.2022.88785 _____ Takeaway Points Building on articles previously published in this journal, this research suggests a potential path toward an effective and sustained clinical approach to decrease chronic opioid analgesic therapy use in the population of patients with chronic, noncancer pain. * We retrospectively examine the initial and sustained success rates of full mu agonist chronic opioid analgesic therapy (COAT) cessation in the setting of chronic, noncancer pain (CNCP) through voluntary participation in a pilot program—implemented via 2 sites and care teams—that provided a standardized, multidisciplinary curriculum containing robust complementary care. * This study provides unusually lengthy follow-up for postintervention COAT cessation monitoring of up to 24 months. * Initial COAT cessation success rates were high, and sustained success at 6 months and beyond was even higher (90%, 95%, and 97%, respectively), indicating that the program curriculum may be an effective strategy for broader application for sustainable COAT cessation in the setting of CNCP. _____ A recent CDC report suggests that years of nationwide medical and managed care regulations to limit prescription opioid access, dose, and time exposure have had minimal positive impact on life expectancy in the United States.1 Despite the wide abandonment of opioid prescriptions by the medical community, opioid-related mortality and morbidity have continued to rise, a trajectory that has accelerated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.1-3 Aside from being a contributor to overdose-related death, full mu agonist chronic opioid analgesic therapy (COAT) has been shown to impede vocational and social return to function and to increase length of disability.1,3,4 Managed care charges for patients with opioid dependency are more than 550% higher than the average annual per-patient charge.5 Also, the population of "opioid refugees" is gaining numbers—patients who were made dependent upon opioids by recent, but now out-of-favor, prescribing practices for the management of chronic pain and are now abruptly unable to find a medical source for the same medications.6 This has moved many patients with chronic pain dependent upon opioids to drastic measures such as seeking new or multiple prescribers, emergency medical care, or even illicit opioid sources.7 The medical community has been trialing and comparing several approaches to combat the ineffective use of COAT for chronic, noncancer pain (CNCP). Some managed care institutions have attempted a model of coverage cessation for these medications, resulting in paradoxically increased costs as patients struggle to cope.3 Clinicians have reported varying levels of success to promote COAT cessation through outpatient weaning8-12 and single-modality approaches of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),13,14 acupuncture,10 interdisciplinary programing,15-24 and buprenorphine substitution.20,25-27 None of the data present a definitive, best-practice approach to the challenge of the opioid epidemic in the setting of chronic pain. Every activity was designed for home exercise and was led by a licensed or credentialed expert in that field, such as a physician, nurse practitioner, psychologist, licensed acupuncturist, physical therapist, or licensed physical therapy assistant. Because the PDMP is ubiquitous as a record of presence and volume of prescribed controlled substances in California, with few exceptions (see Discussion), lack of an entry in the PDMP was interpreted as that subject not using opioids.