Targeting Effective Analgesia in Clinics for HIV - Intervention

The nurse care manager at each site will collaborate with intervention physicians to implement key essential elements of guideline driven care, namely opioid treatment agreements, urine drug testing, random pill counts and periodic checking of on-line Prescription Monitoring Programs. The nurse care manager will use an electronic registry to retrieve pain medication information from the electronic medical record (EMR). Registry data will be collected on the patients of the intervention group providers. The nurse care manager will be able to use the registry to generate reports that will allow him/her to monitor those patients who are receiving opioids for chronic pain.

All intervention participants will receive a 60 minute group didactic session by a national expert on opioid prescribing for pain. Physicians will receive two academic detailing sessions, and will be given the option of having a third, booster academic detailing session if desired.

The nurse care manager will encourage and arrange referral of challenging patients with potential abuse or dependence to prescription opioids to an addiction specialist.