Universal precautions for opioid safety, similar to universal precautions for infection control, is one approach to addressing the epidemic of prescription pain medication misuse that some pain clinics, primary care practices, and hospices have used. In this study published in the Journal of Hospice and Palliative Nursing, a set of hospice-appropriate universal precautions was designed, drawing on hospice nursing strengths, and implemented in a midsize hospice agency. The universal precautions include opioid risk assessment tools, pain management informed consent and safe management agreements for all patients and policies on medication storage and disposal.
Link to J Hospice Palliat Nursing article (6/2017) (Open access with Medscape site registration)
