SPOT Clinical Audit: Safely Prescribing Opioid Treatment

From 1 February 2018, all medicines that contain codeine will no longer be available without prescription in pharmacies, and, as a result, GPs will see an influx of patients seeking prescriptions for pain killers. Ensure you're equipped and ready to confidently handle the changes and be able to improve your patients quality of life in safe, effective ways with the revised SPOT Clinical Audit quality improvement activity, designed to support GPs around the recent changes and focussing on patients whose chronic non-cancer pain is inadequately controlled and may benefit from a change in their pain management plan.

The SPOT Clinical Audit: Safely Prescribing Opioid Treatment has been designed to assist GPs in tailoring a pain management plan to patients with poorly controlled chronic non-cancer pain, to help manage their pain and improve their quality of life.

To assess patients whose chronic non-cancer pain is not adequately controlled and who may benefit from a change in their pain management plan.

The audit has been designed to take approximately 8-10 weeks to complete. This includes patient recall from your practice, patient consult and audit evaluation.

• Log in or register on this page
• Use the 'Click here to proceed' button to get started.

• Read the background information on the audit's underlying evidence and best practice statements and answer some questions.
• It would be a good idea to complete this 10 minute activity before your first audit patient.

• With moderate to severe non-cancer pain for over 3 months and taking regular codeine (with or without other non-opioid analgesics)
• Pain currently not well-controlled with minimal side effects

1. Consider a patient being consulted for chronic non-cancer pain

2. Perform a search on your practice software using the following search criteria: (Please consult your practice software help or support function if required)

• Diagnosis: Common causes of chronic pain e.g. low back pain or osteoarthritis of the knee/hip
  and
• Medications: Codeine-containing preparations e.g. paracetamol 500mg and codeine phosphate 30mg tablets/capsules

3. Recall these patients for a consultation - click here to download a recall letter that can be mail merged using your practice software or handed out by your practice nurse.

• Enter this information in the patient data entry section of the audit.

• Discuss a Pain Management Plan with the patient based on current evidence and considered best practice.

• Once you have entered data for 10 patients, review your results and evaluate the audit recommendations.

• Completion of this activity will award you 40 RACGP QI&CPD points, or 30 ACRRM PDP points.
• If a nurse assisted you in completing the clinical audit and wants to claim CPD points download a certificate here.