RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Long-term, high-dose opioid prescribing for chronic non-cancer pain in primary care JF BJGP Open JO BJGP Open FD Royal College of General Practitioners SP BJGPO.2021.0217 DO 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0217 A1 John Bailey A1 Simon Gill A1 Rob Poole YR 2022 UL http://bjgpopen.org/content/early/2022/06/21/BJGPO.2021.0217.abstract AB Background Opioid prescriptions for chronic pain have risen sharply over the last 25 years; harms associated with these drugs are related to dose and length of use.Aim The main aim of this study was to identify patients prescribed long-term, high doses of opioids in the community and to assess the prevalence of such use.Design & setting An observational study of opioid prescribing in two demographically dissimilar GP practices was carried out.Method Details of opioid prescriptions were collected for 22,841 patients, of whom 1,488 (6.5%) were being prescribed opioids on the census date. Exhaustive examination of the data identified all patients who were prescribed oral morphine equivalent doses of 120 mg/day or more for one year or longer.Results All these patients were being prescribed ≥120 mg/day as a single drug; morphine, oxycodone, fentanyl or buprenorphine, irrespective of opioid polypharmacy. Across both practices, 1.71/1000 patients were identified as long-term, high-dose users of opioid medication for chronic non-cancer pain. Prevalence was similar in the two practices. Repetition of the process until January 2021 showed no change in the pattern.Conclusion This study offers confirmation that a significant group of patients are prescribed long-term opioid medication for chronic pain at doses which are unlikely to be effective in reducing pain but are likely to have harmful consequences. The findings offer a simple, reliable and practical method of data extraction to identify these patients individually from routinely collected prescribing data, which will help in monitoring and treating individuals and establishing the problem prevalence.