Online tool helps start a GP conversation about opioid dependency
Published: 1 June 2021
Opioid-based medicines come with risks and side effects which may be harmful. Each day in Australia opioid harm contributes to almost 150 hospitalisations and 14 emergency department presentations (AIHW, 2018).
In collaboration with Monash University, Healthdirect Australia has created an interactive version of an existing and validated questionnaire used in the Routine Opioid Outcome Monitoring study.
The self-guided digital Opioid Risk Indicator is a series of four questions asking the user to consider their level of concern in the past three months about their opioid medication use.
“We’ve kept the questions from the paper version the same, but our online version has the advantage of being interactive, so we worked on making it more useful for users, more actionable, with supporting information and next steps,” says Dr Osanda Wijeratne, Deputy CMO of Healthdirect Australia.
Getting the balance right
Only half of those on opioid medication are aware that they are taking an opioid-based medication and most have limited understanding of what constitutes safe and effective usage (TGA: A report on communications developmental research relating to opioid regulatory reforms, July 2020) so sensitivity to how users may receive their results was important when developing the tool.
“We want to support users to get enough information to understand if they should be concerned, so they can make informed choices and take the next step, which may include having a conversation with their GP,” says Dr Wijeratne.
The value of an online tool is that results can be viewed by the user straight away. The results page includes a supporting explanation of the outcome, links to additional information, links to find the nearest GP and an accompanying new tool, the Pain Question Planner which can help people prepare for the conversation with their GP.
The results of the Opioid Risk Indicator can be emailed or printed for future reference. A link to Counselling Online is provided for those who may want to talk about their concerns immediately.
Validation for health professionals
To help health professionals understand the credibility of the Opioid Risk Indicator which their patient may be referring to, the back page of the printed results has the following message:
‘This patient has completed the Opioid Risk Indicator. This is an online opioid dependency tool provided by Healthdirect. This tool is based on a section of the Routine Opioids Outcome Monitoring (ROOM) Tool. The ROOM Tool has been validated and is useful to help determine whether patients are at risk of prescription opioid dependence.
The questions included form the opioid use disorder screening tool, or OWLS. This refers to Overuse, Worry about use, Losing interest in usual activities and Slowed down or sedated.’
The information includes an explanation of how the assessment is calculated and provides links to the Monash University ROOM study.
Supporting information
The Opioid Risk Indicator was built by Healthdirect Australia as part of an Australian Government-led ‘be aware for better care’ education and awareness campaign encouraging people to make more informed decisions about using opioid medicines to manage pain.
Working closely with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Healthdirect provided the Opioid Risk Indicator and Pain Question Planner which sit on a comprehensive pain management hub hosted on the healthdirect website.
The hub brings together a range of information, tools and resources about chronic pain, the role and safe use of opioid medicines and alternative pain management options, which provides context for users of the checker while also aligning with a program of Opioid Regulatory Reforms being managed by the TGA.
The searchable Medicines Information Service is integrated at the start of the Opioid Risk Indicator so people can enter the name of their medicine to see if it is opioid-based.
Last reviewed: June 2021