New Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care Standard
The Opioid Analgesic Stewardship in Acute Pain Clinical Care Standard describes the key components of care that patients can expect when they are prescribed opioid analgesics for acute pain in acute care settings.
This new national standard aims to ensure the appropriate use and review of opioid analgesics for the management of acute pain to optimise patient outcomes and reduce the potential for opioid-related harm in Australia.
The standards contain nine quality statements describing the care that should be provided and a set of indicators to support monitoring and quality improvement. This clinical care standard relates to the care of people of all ages with acute pain for whom opioid analgesics may be considered or prescribed. It covers patients presenting with acute pain to the emergency department (ED) or following surgery, up to and including, discharge from hospital.
