Hours of learning: 2

Publication date: 2011

Aim
This course has been written for all healthcare professionals who manage patients with persistent non-cancer pain, to help their understanding of the role of opioids in pain management. It outlines good practice regarding decision making in relation to opioid therapy, ongoing monitoring of treatment and identification and management of problems related to opioid use.

Intended learning outcomes
After completing this course you should be able to:

• determine the efficacy of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain
• compare the effectiveness of opioids for chronic non-cancer pain with that of other drugs
• identify categories of chronic non-cancer pain with better response to opioids
• determine the most common side-effects and complications of opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain.