New Guide Helps Primary Care Practices Manage Long-Term Opioid Patients

AHRQ has released a new guide to help primary care practices manage patients taking opioids for chronic pain. The new Self-Service How-To Guide helps practices implement the AHRQ-funded Six Building Blocks, a structured, systems-based approach to treating patients who use long-term opioid therapy. Clinicians and staff, quality improvement personnel, practice coaches and clinic administrators can use the new guide to implement the Six Building Blocks in a three-stage, 15-month timeline. Developing tools and resources to reduce opioid overdoses and the prevalence of opioid use disorder is a priority for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and AHRQ. For more information, access a press release and an AHRQ Views blog post by Director Gopal Khanna, M.B.A.