Over the past two decades, the United States has seen its gravest rise in overdose death rates, resulting in an uncontrolled epidemic. While overdose increases in the first decade of the 21st century mirrored rising opioid prescriptions, the second decade has shown even more steep inclines in overdose even though annual opioid prescriptions have plummeted. We have also seen dramatic turnover rates for various providers throughout the medical field, particularly in primary care, in part driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. This has left large patient panels, which had been managed by a traditional style of care from older doctors, in the care of younger doctors with a different method of care. This session will discuss how to best manage transferred legacy patients with complex pain on complicated medication regiments—particularly high dose opioids and/or benzodiazepines—so that their pain and other disease states are not only appropriately treated, but also to ensure that they are not abandoned in the process. The presentation will discuss strategies to increase comfortability in prescribing medications to avoid unnecessary and/or abrupt tapering.
