Opioid Toolkit

As part of our commitment to both health partners and members, we want to provide resources that support your professional practice and encourage best practices in opioid use and pain management. Evidence-based medicine does not support long-term opioid treatment for chronic pain.

CareSource offers the following resources as reference when treating patients with long-term high-dose opiate use.

Guidelines for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain and Related Information

Prescribing/Dosages

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain – Guideline for safely and effectively prescribing opioids
• Calculating Total Daily Dose of Opioids for Safer Dosage – Calculating the daily dosage of opioids helps to identify individuals who may benefit from closer monitoring, reduction, or tapering of opioids to reduce risk of overdose
• Checklist for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain – Checklist before prescribing opioids for chronic pain
• Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP) – Guideline for prescribing opioids for chronic pain and when to taper

Tapering

• Transitioning Patients from Opioid Therapy
• Human Health Services (HHS) Guide for Clinicians on the Appropriate Dosage Reduction or Discontinuation of Long-term Opioid Analgesics
• Tapering Opioids for Chronic Pain

Non-Opioid Treatments for Chronic Pain

• Navigate Non-Opioid Treatments for Chronic Pain

Market Rules for Opioid Prescribing

• Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure-Prescribing/Substance Use Screening & Treatment Resources – Kentucky’s KAR prescribing regulations

Special Populations

Opioid Treatment and Pregnancy

• CDC Resource
• Drug Abuse Treatment Options
• High-Risk Substance Use Among Youth – Risk factors for high-risk substance use and prevention

Safe Medication Management

• DisposeRx – Medication disposal resources and education
• Naloxone – Utilization and education

Benefits

• Behavioral Health Covered Benefits and Services – Behavioral health covered services per market and product

Provider Clinical Tools and Resources

• • Controlled Substance Report – CareSource has created a new Controlled Substance Report (CSR) as an enhanced clinical tool for our providers to help them monitor their prescribing habits. This report is available for participating providers 24/7 through the CareSource Provider Portal.

Other Resources

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
• National Institute for Drug Abuse (NIDA)
  • Opioids
  • Opioid Crisis and Pain Management
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
• National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators Learning Library
• Naloxone Resources
  • General Information

CareSource Behavioral Health Addiction Line – 1-833-674-6437

Drug Safety: Take Back Programs

Community Drug Take Back Programs can provide the safest opportunity for individuals to dispose of their leftover medications in order to protect families, those at risk for drug abuse, and our environment.

Members can find a drug take back location near them by going here.

Information on needle exchange programs can be found at here.

Additional guidelines for safe medicine and needle disposal can be found at the FDA website or the EPA website.