Reviewing opioid use, monitoring, and legislature: Nursing perspectives.
Deniece A Jukiewicz, Aisha Alhofaian, Zenora Thompson and 1 others
PMID 31406787WHAT IT FOUND
Opioid prescribing policies vary widely across US states, and monitoring programs are not required everywhere.
Nurses often assess and give opioids, but rules about their prescribing and administration roles are inconsistent.
Key findings
01Prescription drug monitoring programs exist in all 50 states, but prescriber use is not required everywhere and varies by state.
02Many states lack regulated systems for nurses' roles in administering and prescribing opioids.
03The paper identifies nursing care actions: assess pain before and after opioids, monitor consciousness and vital signs, consult prescribers, and reassess opioid need at discharge.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a policy review, not a patient study, so it does not show that any intervention changed opioid use, pain, overdose, or safety. It did not assess patients' outcomes or compare treatments, so it cannot say what worked for individuals. The review searched only English-language articles from 2007 to 2017 and excluded descriptive studies, so it may miss relevant evidence or state details. It focuses on U.S. state and federal policy, so it may not apply to other countries or local systems. The paper reports recommended nursing actions, but it does not document whether those actions were tested or adopted in practice.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that prescription drug monitoring programs, nurse prescribing, or the recommended nursing actions reduced opioid misuse or overdose. The paper reviews U.S. state and federal policies and prior reports; it did not study patients or test outcomes.