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Oxycodone prescribing

Note: Article series are online compilations of previously published articles, links will open in a new window to the original article.

Upfront: “A disaster in the making”: it’s time to take action against misuse of oxycodone

Dr Jeremy McMinn is a consultant psychiatrist and addiction specialist at Capital & Coast DHB. He is also the Co-Chair of the National Association of Opioid Treatment Providers and the New Zealand Branch Chair of the Australasian Chapter of Addiction Medicine. We invited Dr McMinn to answer a series of questions about the role of oxycodone, both as a legitimate option for pain control, and a medicine with a serious potential for misuse. The time for debating who to blame has passed. Oxycodone, and opioid prescribing in general, is already out of hand and we need to collectively take action before it is too late.

Best Practice Journal, June 2014

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Oxycodone: how did we get here and how do we fix it?

Following on from the interview with Dr Jeremy McMinn in the last edition of Best Practice Journal, we examine in more detail what the actual problem is with oxycodone, and how we ended up in this situation.

Best Practice Journal, July 2014

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Helping patients cope with chronic non-malignant pain: it’s not about opioids

The role of opioids in the management of chronic non-malignant pain is a controversial subject due to concerns over the long-term efficacy and safety of treatment, including the risk of misuse and addiction. In the past, opioids featured prominently in many treatment guidelines for chronic non-malignant pain. However, this advice has been reconsidered in more recent times and the current opinion is that opioids have a very limited role in the management of patients with chronic non-malignant pain. Non-pharmacological methods for helping patients cope, and come to terms, with their pain should be the mainstay of treatment. Non-opioid analgesics may be considered for periods when pharmacological treatment for pain is necessary. Opioids should only be considered as a treatment of “last resort”, and should be used for the shortest possible time, at the lowest effective dose, using the least potent opioid possible.

Best Practice Journal, September 2014

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Identifying and managing addiction to opioids

The increased use of opioid analgesics in recent years, particularly oxycodone, has resulted in misuse and addiction issues associated with prescription opioids becoming more evident in New Zealand. Clinicians need to be aware of what these issues are, and how to identify and manage patients with inappropriate opioid use. All patients with non-malignant pain who have been taking opioids for longer than a few weeks should be reviewed, to consider whether treatment is still appropriate and how adequate controls can be ensured.

Best Practice Journal, October 2014

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