When a patient displays aberrant behaviors, should clinicians assume they are abusing their opioid?
Knowledge Library published on April 26, 2013 in Practice
Lynn R. Webster, MD, FACPM, FASAM
Medical Director
CRILifetree
Co-Founder, LifeSource
Salt Lake City, Utah
Medical Director
CRILifetree
Co-Founder, LifeSource
Salt Lake City, Utah
Hi. I am Lynn Webster, medical director of CRILifetree Clinical Research in Salt Lake City. Aberrant behaviors are just an indication that somebody has not followed the prescription the way that they have been instructed, but it does not mean that the individual has an addiction or that they should not necessarily receive their pain medications. However, it does mean that when we see an aberrant behavior, we need to find out why. We have to investigate why that aberrant behavior has appeared, maybe it is somebody who is not following the instructions because they are self-medicating; their pain is not adequately treated. On the other hand, they may be trying to use the medicine to treat a comorbid medical health disorder, and that would be problematic. So the key here is aberrant behaviors need to be investigated. You need to document in your medical record why you believe that aberrant behavior occurred and what you are planning to do about it.
Last modified: February 1, 2013