title: Documenting and improving opioid treatment: the Prescription Opioid Documentation and Surveillance (PODS) System.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To demonstrate that a computer-assisted survey instrument offers an efficient means of patient evaluation when initiating opioid therapy. Design. We report on our experience with the Prescription Opioid Documentation and Surveillance (PODS) System, a medical informatics tool that uses validated questionnaires to collect comprehensive clinical and behavioral information from patients with chronic pain.
  
  
  METHODS
  Over a 39-month period, 1,400 patients entered data into PODS using a computer touch screen in a Veterans Administration Pain Clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Indices of pain intensity, function, mental health status, addiction history, and the potential for prescription opioid abuse were formatted for immediate inclusion into the medical record.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The PODS system offers physicians a tool for systematic evaluation prior to prescribing opioids The system generates an opioid agreement between the patient and physician, and provides medicolegal documentation of the patient's condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  PODS should improve patient care, refine pain control, and reduce the incidence of opioid abuse. Research to determine how PODS affects clinical care is underway. Specially, the effectiveness and efficiency of providing care utilizing PODS will be evaluated in future studies.
authors: VA Northern California Health Care System, University of California, Davis, California, USA. blwilsey@ucdavis.edu
authors: Barth L
authors: BL
authors: Wilsey
authors: Scott M
authors: SM
authors: Fishman
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Casamalhuapa
authors: Asha
authors: A
authors: Gupta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003219:Confidentiality; D003863:Depression / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D004282:Documentation / Q000379:methods*; D011307:Drug Prescriptions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking / Q000379:methods; D008490:Medical Informatics; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D018710:Pain Clinics; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018570:Risk Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid