Doctors told to be cautious prescribing opioids

TORONTO — An Ontario government agency is urging doctors to be mindful of prescription strength and length when putting patients on a new course of opioids.

Health Quality Ontario has issued a report tracking the number of opioid prescriptions given to patients who had not been using the powerful painkillers for at least six months.

The report found slight declines in the number of doctors prescribing opioids at high doses as well as the number issuing prescriptions for longer than seven days.

But the organization says both practices are still taking place and urges doctors to think carefully before including opioids as part of a treatment plan for such patients.

The report says high doses and long prescription lengths are both risk factors for longer-term opioid addiction, a condition that has become even more dangerous in recent years due to the spread of fentanyl.

It says Canada has the world’s second-highest opioid prescription rate behind the United States and doctors should be more open to considering alternative treatments whenever appropriate.

“I think we should be taking a holistic approach to managing people’s pain and thinking very carefully about whether the potential benefits exceed the potential harms when we are newly starting somebody on prescription opioids,” said Dr. Erfan Dhalla, vice-president of evidence development and standards at Health Quality Ontario.