Pharmacists' Attitudes and Dispensing Patterns for Opioids in Cancer Pain Management

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Abstract
Five hundred surveys were sent to pharmacists throughout the United States. The response rate was 33% and represented pharmacists from 24 states and the District of Columbia. Respondents answered questions describing their willingness to fill a “prescription” for 300 morphine tablets for a patient with cancer pain, under a variety of conditions. In addition, several questions on the survey were designed to assess knowledge of the clinical use of opioids. The results indicate that availability of opioids for cancer pain is limited, at least in some areas. Some respondents also displayed gaps in their knowledge of the clinical use of opioids. Seventy-nine percent of the pharmacists thought that patients taking 150 mg morphine sustained release tablets every twelve hours would become “addicts” if they continued taking this dose, little difference existed among responses from pharmacists in urban, suburban, and rural areas.