Opioids are among these controlled substances, making PMPs an important source of a patient’s history of controlled substance use, but more specifically, opioid history. PMPs house prescribing and dispensing data for controlled substances from health care providers such as physicians and pharmacists. One such strategy is the implementation of prescription monitoring programs (PMPs). Many strategies developed to combat this crisis have, therefore, also targeted prescription opioids, with a goal to promote appropriate use of these medications while reducing dependence and potential for harm. As many patients with pain turned to opioids for treatment, prescription opioids, such as morphine, hydromorphone, and oxycodone, were revealed to have a high risk for abuse and potential for dependence, which has been since reflected in their classification as Schedule II controlled substances. Īlthough considerable attention has been directed to the use of illicit opioids, the crisis is strongly linked to the emergence of prescription opioids as the primary treatment modality to address acute and chronic pain over the past few decades. In Europe, the role of opioids in mortality is also apparent, with opioids being found in 81% of all fatal overdoses. In the United States, opioids were found to account for two thirds of all drug overdose deaths, and in Canada, the rate of opioid-related deaths was found to be 7.8 per 100,000. North America and Western Europe are amid an opioid crisis.
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