Last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published in the New England Journal of Medicine a long-awaited statement opposing the misapplication of the 2016 opioid prescribing guideline for chronic pain.

The CDC clarification is an important step in acknowledging the harms to patients caused from rigid opioid policies that failed to account for individual differences in the experience and treatment of pain and calls for the implementation of best practices in opioid prescribing and de-prescribing. For years, short-sighted and harmful opioid policies and practices were justified by citing the CDC guideline as their basis. Multiple stakeholders, including me and my esteemed colleagues, have worked to mitigate harmful misapplication of the Guideline. Today, the CDC loudly denounced such misapplication and called for careful patient protections.

While this welcome development is a huge victory for patient-centered pain care, much work remains. In my newly published Op-Ed in “The Hill,” I discuss what’s needed in practice and policy implementation to best care for Americans living with pain.

Until next time,

Beth

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