Managing Legacy Opioid Patients, Patients with Comorbid Substance Use, and a Role for Buprenorphine for Pain
Department
Medicine
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Primary Care
Abstract
The 2010s saw a dramatic shift in the approach to prescribing opioid medications for chronic pain. Fueled by a growing understanding of abuse potential, the opioid epidemic, and later, a misapplication of the 2016 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC_ Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, many clinicians stopped both initiating opioid treatment and continuing treatment for legacy opioid patients, many of whom had been on high doses for years. Similarly, patients with active or past addiction found limited options for pain treatment, often stigmatized by staff in health care settings, thus increasing their risk of substance use and mental health crisis.
First Page
387
Last Page
399
DOI
10.1016/j.pop.2026.04.001
Volume
53
Issue
3
Publication Date
9-1-2026
Publisher
Saunders.
Medical Subject Headings
Humans; Chronic Pain; Analgesics, Opioid; Buprenorphine; Opioid-Related Disorders; Comorbidity; United States; Substance-Related Disorders; Opiate Substitution Treatment; Narcotic Antagonists; Pain Management
PubMed ID
42521373
Recommended Citation
Dent, R. S. (2026). Managing Legacy Opioid Patients, Patients with Comorbid Substance Use, and a Role for Buprenorphine for Pain. Primary Care, 53 (3), 387-399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pop.2026.04.001