AHRQ
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a new toolkit to support a structured, team-based approach to improving the management of patients who take opioids to ease chronic pain. The majority of patients taking opioids for chronic pain are managed by primary care providers and their staff. The Six Building Blocks toolkit supports improvement in six areas: leadership and consensus; policies, patient agreements and workflows; tracking and monitoring patient care; planned, patient-centered visits; caring for complex patients; and measuring success. The website was developed as part of a collaboration among AHRQ, the Washington State Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.