"HIV Physicians and Chronic Opioid Therapy: It's Time to Raise the Bar" was published in AIDS & Behavior, a top HIV journal highlighting qualitative research on HIV care.
Jennifer Carroll, associate professor of anthropology, has published new research on strategies for improving opioid prescribing practices in HIV clinics.
In her article, “HIV Physicians and Chronic Opioid Therapy: It’s Time to Raise the Bar,” Carroll shares findings from qualitative research she has carried out as an anthropologist embedded in a large randomized controlled trial. The purpose of the trial was to test the effect of novel training and administrative support strategies on the opioid prescribing practices of medical professionals working in HIV clinics.
Carroll followed physicians through these interventions and carried out extensive interviews with physicians and patients in two major medical centers to assess the trial’s impact on patient care, patient risk, and doctor-patient relationships. Despite the recent publication of CDC guidelines for the safer opioid prescribing, many physicians struggle to balance the prescribing standards against other priorities in the clinic, such as administrative burden, limited patient time, and a strong desire to avoid placing unnecessary stress on stable patients.
This article details those challenges and offers physicians’ own suggestions for ensuring better patient care in the context of chronic opioid therapy.
This research was funded through a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01-DA033768).