Assessing Patients’ Risk for Opioid Use Disorder

Opioid use disorder and opioid misuse continue to increase rapidly in prevalence in North America. Nurses play a critical role in managing pain in patients who are at risk for opioid use disorder. The interplay of pain and opioid use disorder provides nurses with an opportunity to address urgent needs while treating patients across the continuum of care. This article reviews strategies for assessing risk for opioid use disorder while treating patients with pain. Implementing these approaches into daily nursing practice may improve patient care and help reduce the incidence of opioid use disorder.