A more universal approach to administering and responding to urine drug testing is needed, according to a study published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Only one in five patients receiving long-term opioid therapy (LTOT) for chronic pain in the Veterans Affairs (VA) system undergoes urine drug testing. Further, there are racial differences in initiation of testing and discontinuation of opioids for among those that test positive for illicit drugs while taking LTOT. Multifaceted approaches are needed to combat misuse of prescription opioids. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 40 percent of all opioid overdose deaths in the United States are due to prescription opioids. While there has been increasing attention on prescribing practices, there has been less attention paid to assessing how well clinicians monitor patients for signs of misuse once opioids are initiated. “There is a general consensus among experts in the field of pain management that urine drug testing is one of the best tools clinicians have for identifying opioid misuse, illicit drug use, and the concomitant use of sedatives or other substances that may increase the risk of overdose,” write the authors led by Julie Gaither, from Yale University in […]