Abstract
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), prescription drug abuse was the fastest growing drug problem in the United States as of 2017. As a result of the growing prescription drug problem in the United States and the associated costs incurred by the US economy, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the CDC, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and state and local public health agencies have made reducing prescription drug abuse a top priority to address associated rates of morbidity and mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). While opioids are commonly prescribed in the family practice setting, few are monitored closely enough to prevent the abuse potential. Opioids can provide relief to chronic pain sufferers without leading to abuse, if managed appropriately. A lack of understanding controlled substance agreements and opioid abuse has contributed to the opioid epidemic. Family practice clinics need to implement these agreements to closely monitor the use of opioids and prevent abuse. Chronic illnesses, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension, are monitored closely, and opioid treatment should be the monitored in the same manner. The family practice clinic in which this study will take place would like to start a controlled substance agreement to closely monitor these medications due to concerns of abuse. The problem at this clinic site is that there is no controlled substance contract and opioids cannot be monitored closely. The purpose of this project is to implement a standardized controlled substance agreement in the family practice setting to closely monitor the use of opioids and deter the abuse potential. Proper understanding of the purpose of the pain contract and abuse potential can ultimately improve overall compliance with controlled substances and decrease the current opioid epidemic.|Keywords: opioids, chronic pain, pain medication contract, opioid contract, opioid epidemic