New joint Innofonds project on opioid therapy
12.01.2021 16:41
In a new innovation fund project, the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) is investigating the current supply situation in opioid therapy together with the professional association of doctors and psychological psychotherapists in pain and palliative medicine in Germany (BVSD) and DAK-Gesundheit. The investigation is led by the UDE Chair of Medical Management. For this purpose, routine data from the health insurance company is evaluated and patients and service providers are interviewed. The Innovation Fund is supporting the project with around 668,000 euros over three years. In recent years, an increase in opioid prescriptions has also been observed in Germany.
“The aim is to derive recommendations from the study results on how the risk of abuse and addiction can be minimized and patient safety increased,” explains project leader Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wasem, UDE. By analyzing routine data from DAK Health, the frequency and type of incorrect care, differences in patient characteristics as well as abuse and dependency disorders with regard to opioids are to be examined. 2,300 adult insured persons who receive long-term therapy with opioid-containing analgesics are selected for the survey. In addition, 1,200 general practitioners, specialists and pain therapists are surveyed.
“Opioids can be a blessing for pain sufferers. However, they also have enormous potential for damage if they are used too often or incorrectly,” says Andreas Storm, Chairman of the Board of DAK-Gesundheit. “With our joint project, we would like to help ensure that these risks are minimized in the future and that pain patients continue to be treated safely on a solid knowledge basis.”
“We want to strengthen guideline-based pain care. “Our focus is on the analysis of long-term prescriptions of opioid-containing analgesics in adult patients with non-tumor-related pain, taking into account guideline-based indication criteria,” explains Prof. Dr. Dr. Joachim Nadstawek, BVSD chairman.
In the context of a serious illness, opioid analgesics are often used as strong painkillers. These are also increasingly being used for other pain-intensive illnesses. However, there is also a great risk here, especially with long-term use: opioids can quickly and strongly become addictive if used incorrectly. The prescription of these medicines is therefore highly regulated in Germany, but a sharp increase has been observed in the recent past.