Clinician beliefs about opioid use and barriers in chronic nonmalignant pain.

A survey of the medical directors of multidisciplinary pain clinics and multidisciplinary pain centers listed in the American Pain Society Pain Facilities Directory was conducted to define those pain specialists' beliefs about the role of opioid analgesia in 14 types of chronic nonmalignant pain. Respondents also reported their perceptions of barriers to their prescribing opioids for chronic nonmalignant pain and what they perceived as barriers to opioid prescribing for chronic nonmalignant pain by other, non-pain specialist clinicians in their communities. The respondents are characterized by demographics, disciplines, specialties, and time in practice. The percentage of time that a pharmacist was available in the pain programs also is reported. There is increasing acceptance of opioids for most of the listed types of chronic nonmalignant pain, but the acceptance varies by types of pain syndromes. Opioids were most consistently accepted for sickle cell disease pain and least commonly endorsed for headaches, myofascial pain, and fibromyalgia. Factors that may influence clinicians' perceptions about opioids are discussed.