Primary Care Intervention to Reduce Prescription Opioid Overdoses

The intervention session combines elements of motivational enhancement (ME) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Similar to other ME brief interventions, the intervention content will be covered in a single session. Participants are presented with a variety of risk reduction strategies and strategies for coping with pain that may reduce reliance on opioids for managing pain.

The educational control condition provides educational content related to the biology of pain response and an overview of pain conditions. The overall style is didactic.

The Veterans Health Administration instituted a requirement that all patients receiving long-term opioid therapy receive an informed consent process that reviews the risks of opioid therapy. All individuals eligible for this study will meet this definition of long-term opioid therapy. The study therapists for both study arms will deliver the informed consent process during the sessions as part of treatment as usual.