A Review of Opioid Prescription in a Teaching Hospital in Colombia
Despite having been used for many years, opioid analgesics remain essential in the control of severe pain. Hence, monitoring of opioid prescribing practices is a starting point for acquiring basic information regarding the treatment of pain. Several reports have indicated limited use of opioid analgesics in Colombia, but there has been a recent and important increase in the use of morphine nationwide, although supplies are insufficient and do not meet the national demand.1 At a hospital level, review of prescriptions for opioid analgesics provides both prescribers and administrators with consolidated information on the routine use of these medications, and helps to ensure the quality and safety of prescriptions.2,3
Detailed information about prescriptions is particularly important in relation to opioid analgesics, because of the stigma attached to this family of medicines. This is due to biased overestimation of side effects, leading to reluctance to prescribe opioids. The result is underutilization4,5 and unnecessary pain experience by patients.6–8