Recording and communicating opioid adverse drug reactions is an important element of opioid stewardship

Pattullo et al. in their recent publication have developed a framework to facilitate the implementation of opioid stewardship programmes in the acute hospital setting. An important element of the safe prescribing of opioids is an understanding of opioid adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and the prescribing restrictions imposed by opioid ADR alerts in the electronic health record (EHR). Therefore, we would advocate for the framework to contain a subsection on the reporting and critical evaluation of opioid ADRs and the management of patients with an opioid ADR history.

Opioid ADRs are the second most common drug reaction documented in the EHR, present in 5.9% of records in one Australian study...