The Economic Impact of Opioid Use in the Management of Chronic Nonmalignant Pain

Chronic nonmalignant pain (CNMP), defined as persistent pain that is not attributable to a potentially life-limiting condition and has a duration of at least 3 months, is widespread in the United States. Moderate-to-severe CNMP often is treated with opioid analgesics, and there is ongoing debate regarding appropriate allocation of opioids to treat CNMP because long-term treatment can result in problematic side effects, drug misuse, or abuse leading to detrimental medical, social, and economic consequences. Furthermore, therapeutic strategies arising from concerns about the misuse of opioids may impede the treatment of patients who require strong analgesics for adequate pain relief. While current CNMP management includes nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic approaches, including acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and opioids, there is debate regarding the risk-benefit profile of opioids for chronic pain treatment. Mitigation of opioid misuse and abuse and proper administration of opioid analgesics must be balanced against providing appropriate analgesia. To accomplish this, managed care policies could implement guidelines that focus on evaluating risk characteristics for opioid misuse and abuse, use opioid dose-sparing strategies, and encourage the use of alternative analgesics or nonpharmacologic therapy when appropriate. The purpose of this review is to examine challenges and costs associated with CNMP management using opioids and to summarize alternative therapeutic approaches.