title: Do patients know they are on pain medication agreements? Results from a sample of high-risk patients on chronic opioid therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Pain medicine agreements are frequently recommended for use with high-risk patients on chronic opioid therapy. We assessed how consistently pain medicine agreements were used and whether patients were aware that they had signed a pain medicine agreement in a sample of HIV-infected adults prescribed chronic opioid treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  We recruited patients from a longitudinal cohort of community-based HIV-infected adults and recruited the patients' primary care providers (PCPs). The patients completed in-person interviews and PCPs completed mail-based questionnaires about the patients' use of pain medicine agreements. Among patients prescribed chronic opioid therapy, we analyzed the prevalence of pain medicine agreement use, patient factors associated with their use, and agreement between patient and clinician reports of pain agreements.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We had 84 patient-clinician dyads, representing 38 PCPs. A total of 72.8% of patients fit the diagnostic criteria for a lifetime substance use disorder. PCPs reported using pain medicine agreements with 42.9% of patients. Patients with pain medicine agreements were more likely to be smokers (91.7% vs 58.3%; P = 0.001) and had higher mean scores on the Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain (µ = 26.0 [standard deviation, SD] = 9.7) vs µ = 19.5 [SD = 9.3]; P = 0.003). Patients reported having a pain medicine agreement with a sensitivity of 61.1% and a specificity of 64.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In a high-risk sample, clinicians were using agreements at a low rate, but were more likely to use them with patients at highest risk of misuse. Patients exhibited low awareness of whether they signed a pain medicine agreement.
authors: Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Division of General Internal Medicine/San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors: Joanne
authors: J
authors: Penko
authors: Jennifer
authors: J
authors: Mattson
authors: Christine
authors: C
authors: Miaskowski
authors: Margot
authors: M
authors: Kushel
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D032982:Contracts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010146:Pain / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid