The use and misuse of opioids has garnered increased attention in Kansas and nationwide. KMS believes that opioids can be used in certain situations to effectively treat pain and firmly supports maintaining a physician's ability to make clinical decisions which are in the best interests of patients.
Addressing the challenge
In order to understand how opioid misuse is impacting Kansans and how physicians might engage in this important conversation, KMS has partnered with the Kansas Hospital Association. Together, we have established a Joint Committee on Opioid Use which will review data related to opioid prescribing in our state and identify strategies which may assist Kansas physicians and hospitals in addressing challenges related to opioid misuse.
K-TRACS
K-TRACS, our state's prescription drug monitoring program, provides physicians access to important information. The program has a number of valuable benefits:
- Physicians can use the K-TRACS data to gather feedback on their own prescribing trends
- Physicians can learn more about their patients' history with controlled substances.
- Data within K-TRACS can also be helpful to physicians who might suspect a patient is misusing controlled substances.
KMS encourages all physicians who prescribe controlled substances in Kansas to register for and regularly access K-TRACS.
For additional information, including a registration tutorial, visit the K-TRACS website at http://www.pharmacy.ks.gov/k-tracs.
Resources
- KMS Principles on Opioid Misuse
- Principles for Treating Chronic Pain (Kansas Board of Healing Arts)
- Statutory requirements regarding supervision and delegation (KSA 65-28,127)
- Kansas Department of Health & Environment
- Centers for Disease Control
- American Medical Association
