Opioids

Clinical practice guidelines serve as an educational reference and do not supersede the clinical judgment of the treating physician with respect to appropriate and necessary care for an individual patient. For benefit purposes, however, in the event HMSA policies differ from the clinical practice guidelines, HMSA policies shall supersede the clinical practice guidelines.

The links below direct you to the latest national guidelines (in alphabetical order):

• ACP Journals – The American College of Physicians (ACP). Publication Date 2017

  The ACP developed this guideline to present the evidence and provide clinical recommendations on noninvasive treatment of low back pain.

• Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain

  The CDC has released updated and expanded recommendations for clinicians providing pain care for adult outpatients with short- and long-term pain. The 2022 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Pain addresses the following areas: 1) determining whether to initiate opioids for pain, 2) selecting opioids and determining opioid dosages, 3) deciding duration of initial opioid prescription and conducting follow-up, and 4) assessing risk and addressing potential harms of opioid use.

• Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) Guidelines. Publication Date 2017. [PDF]

  To provide guidance for the prescription of opioids for the management of chronic non-cancer pain, to develop a consistent philosophy among the many diverse groups with an interest in opioid use as to appropriately prescribing opioids, to improve the treatment of chronic non-cancer pain and to reduce the likelihood of drug abuse and diversion.

Guideline Review Date: December 2025

The information posted above includes hypertext links or pointers to information created and maintained by other organizations. HMSA provides these links for our users’ information and convenience. When users select a link to an outside website, they are leaving the HMSA site and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the outside website. HMSA does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information on linked websites. HMSA does not endorse the organizations sponsoring linked websites and we do not endorse the views they express or the products/services they offer. HMSA cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials in linked websites; users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked website. HMSA is not responsible for transmissions users receive from linked websites.

Revision History