Palliative care and hospice settings have a disproportionate numbers of patients with serious mental illness and substance use disorders. Caring for this group of patients can be complicated by virtue of their advanced illnesses and their need for medications with overdose potential. In such settings, large amounts of opioid pain medications are often required to address the pain requirements of the patients. Due to the availability of these medications and the limited oversight, one has to pay special attention to prevent diversion of pain medications and other controlled substances by staff and family members.
Access “Managing Pain in Individuals with Serious Illness and Comorbid Substance Use Disorder” at: https://pcssnow.org/event/managing-pain-in-individuals-with-serious-illness-and-comorbid-substance-use-disorder/