clinical practice
Opioid nation
P
Australians are
increasingly
misusing opioids
and need to be
educated on
alternative pain
management
options, a peak
body says.
Carol Bennett
interviewed by
Dallas Bastian
ainaustralia has cautioned Australians against
using opioids to treat chronic pain, and says
the public and health professionals need
better education about alternative treatments.
Chief executive Carol Bennett said opioids are
still widely used to treat chronic non-cancer pain in
Australia despite evidence of their ineffectiveness for
long-term pain.
“Unfortunately, many consumers believe opioids
are of benefit for their chronic pain, and they find
it difficult to reduce their use,” Bennett said. “We
need to ensure better awareness and provide more
effective support to people with chronic pain if
we are to reduce misuse of opioid medication in
Australia. Dependence and unwanted side-effects
can have a devastating impact on people’s lives.”
Bennett added greater awareness of appropriate
opioid use is needed, as are sound alternative
treatments and supports for people experiencing
chronic pain.
“Although chronic pain is difficult to treat and may
be lifelong, evidence shows that multidisciplinary
pain management is the most effective approach for
minimising the impact of pain, improving function
20 | nursingreview.com.au
and quality of life, and avoiding or minimising
reliance on painkillers,” she said. “There are no
simple fixes for a complex problem.”
Nursing Review spoke with Bennett about
alternative pain management options and the
support Australians need.
NR: How often are opioids being misused and
how it is affecting the lives of those Australians?
CB: We know that one in five GP consultations
involve a patient with chronic pain, and we know
that the latest general practice data is showing that
opioids are prescribed in three out of four occasions
of multi-site pain management. So we know that
this means that the prescribing of opioids has
exponentially increased. Between 1992 and 2012
we saw a 15-fold increase, and of course, when that
happens you’re going to get all the opioid-related
harms that also increase with that associated use. It’s
a huge issue around the world, and governments are
dealing with this, but clearly in Australia it’s an issue
that we also need to manage, while ensuring that
people still get access to pain management that’s
appropriate to their needs.