British journal of community nursing
-
Br J Community Nurs · Feb 2004
Case ReportsUse of strong opioids for non-cancer pain in the community: a case study.
The continued extension of prescribing rights among nurses may necessitate that effective pain management will require more involvement of nurses in the prescription of controlled drugs. The prescription of strong opioid analgesic drugs for chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP) is viewed as controversial. ⋯ This case study highlights the knowledge gap that exists between pain and addiction medicine and highlights the problems that CNCP patients treated in the community with opioid therapy may encounter. Community nurses are in an ideal position to be instrumental in identifying such vulnerable patients and ensuring that appropriate interventions are available.