Low Risk of Producing an Opioid Use Disorder in Primary Care by Prescribing Opioids to Prescreened Patients with Chronic Noncancer Pain.

This prospective study suggests that patients without a recent or prior history of substance use disorder who were prescribed primarily short-acting opioids in low doses for chronic noncancer pain have a low risk for developing a substance use disorder. This finding supports the importance of prescreening patients being considered for opioid therapy and that prescription of opioids for noncancer pain may carry a lower risk of abuse in selected populations such as in private, community-based practices.