Caring through Complexity: Developing a Palliative Care Opioid and Stimulant Use Disorder Workflow
In a quality improvement project published in the Journal for Pain and Symptom Management, researchers assessed palliative care provider comfort in caring for people with serious illness and opioid or stimulant use disorder (OUD/STuD). After assessing provider comfort levels via a baseline survey, researchers developed and disseminated an evidence-based workflow for opioid prescribing, and provided training on buprenorphine for pain, substance use risk assessment, and safe opioid management. The post-intervention survey, which assessed changes in provider comfort, showed improved provider comfort levels in caring for this population, with a majority of prescribers showing increased comfort opioid management.