Whether you are a physician, an NP, PA, an RN, or any other health care provider, if it comes to your attention that a patient is on a high dosage of morphine equivalent units of an opioid, bring it to the attention of the prescribing entity. One of the easiest reminders can come from an app installed on your EMR system. This is not to suggest that you “cold turkey” a patient on high dosages of opioids. The CDC recommends where possible, a slow taper. The key is to be aware of those patients on high dosages or if they are also taking benzo diazepam. Simply being aware of the problem goes a long way to solving it.
Yours,
Larry Kobak, Esq.