As a health care professional, you always want to provide the best possible care to a patient. This means informing yourself and being aware of the risks and safety measures related to prescribing opioids and the ongoing treatment. With no two people the same, there are a number of professional development guides and resources available to assist.

Screening For Dependence

The Routine Opioid Outcomes Monitoring (ROOM) Tool is a screening tool for prescription opioid dependence, developed specifically to use in primary care settings.¹ Download the tool here.

Opioid Calculator

The Faculty of Pain Medicine’s opioid calculator is an essential clinical tool, designed to simplify the calculation of equianalgesic dose by expressing it as total oral Morphine Equivalent Daily Dose (oMEDD). It uses a “traffic light” dose warning system as a clear, simple way to indicate the risk of dose-related harm.

Download the free smartphone app, Opioid Calculator by ANZCA, today (17+).

Download for iOS
Download for Android

 

HealthPathways SA is a free online portal that provides GPs and other health professionals with easy access to comprehensive, evidence-based assessment, management and local SA referral pathways for specific health conditions. HealthPathways SA is developed locally by South Australian GPs, specialists, nurses and other health professionals to improve patient access to the right care at the right time in the right place.

Pathways to support patient care include:


Opioids And Your Patient

Opioids and Your Patient is a free online course designed to provide you with the skills, tools and knowledge to help maximise patient benefits and minimise the potential harms associated with opioids. Developed by ReachForTheFacts in collaboration with industry experts, the course includes:

  • Opioids and the dangers of use
  • When and how to prescribe
  • Monitoring and review
  • De-prescribing prescription opioids

Accredited for RACGP QI & CPD points.

Enrol today at gpex.com.au

Guidelines And Position Statements

Many colleges and professional bodies have published guidelines or position statements on the use and prescription of opioids. Find some listed below:

Responding To Pharmaceutical Opioid-Related Problems

A short resource developed by NCETA addresses several key issues related to pharmaceutical opioids. It is available here. 

Managing Your Patient’s Pain

Better Pain Management: A professional, high quality online education program developed by the Faculty of Pain Medicine (FPM) of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA), this program has been designed for specialist and general medical practitioners, medical students, nurses and allied health practitioners engaged in the care of patients with persistent pain.

Pain Management Network: The NSW Health Agency for Clinical Innovation have developed online tools to guide the assessment and management of pain. These resources are for both clinicians and patients.

For consumer resources and support services which can help your patient visit our Help and Support page

[1] Nielsen S, Picco L, Middleton M, Kowalski M & Bruno R, Validation of the Routine Opioid Outcome Monitoring (ROOM) screening tool in patients prescribed opioids for chronic pain. National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) International Forum, San Antonia, Texas, USA. June 17, 2019 (Poster presentation)