The Joint Commission and the FDA take steps to curb adverse events related to the use and misuse of opioid drugs.

Alarmed by adverse events involving opioid drugs, the Joint Commission has issued a Sentinel Alert urging hospitals to take steps to improve safety in the prescribing of these powerful drugs. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an initiative that will soon require the manufacturers of long-acting and extended-release opioids to offer education and training to physicians and others who prescribe these pharmaceuticals. The Joint Commission reports that of the opioid-related adverse events reported to the agency between 2004 and 2011, 47% involved wrong-dosage medication errors, 29% pertained to improper patient monitoring, and 11% were attributed to other factors such as excessive dosing, drug-drug interactions, and adverse reactions. The FDA reports that nearly 16,000 Americans died from overdoses involving opioids in 2009, and in 2011, there were nearly 23 million prescriptions written for extended-release and long-acting opioids. Some new guidelines on opioid prescribing in the ED urge providers to avoid prescribing extended-release or long-acting opioids altogether, and to consider measures that will limit opportunities for drug diversion.