ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2022
Patient Perspectives on Improving Patient-Provider Relationships and Provider Communication During Opioid Tapering.
Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Interventions to safely and effectively reduce (taper) use of opioids in chronic non-cancer pain: a systematic review.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Care Models to Improve Pain and Reduce Opioids Among Patients Prescribed Long-Term Opioid Therapy: The VOICE Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA internal medicine · 2025Trial
- Deflecting Before Prescribing: Negotiating About Opioids and Chronic Pain in Primary Care.Health communication · 2026Article
- Patient and Clinician Perspectives on Chronic Pain Communication in Advanced Kidney Disease.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2026Article
- Long-Term Opioid Therapy Tapering and Risk of Substance Use Disorder and Overdose: Differences by Opioid Dose and Duration.Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Opioid Craving in Chronic Pain Management: A Structural Equation Model of Veterans in Pain Rehabilitation.Military medicine · 2026Observational
- Perceived Companionship Is Associated with Pain Severity but Not Opioid Tapering Among Veterans with Chronic Pain.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Observational
- Perceptions and experiences of pain management and opioid use among orthopaedic patients and health professionals: Insights from a qualitative study in a metropolitan tertiary hospital.SAGE open medicine · 2025Article
- Extending care beyond the clinic: integrating patient-reported outcomes in chronic pain management through human factors engineering.Frontiers in health services · 2025Article
- Disparities in access but not outcomes: Medicaid versus non-Medicaid patients in multidisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation.Disability and rehabilitation · 2024Article
- Patient Perspectives on Mental Health and Pain Management Support Needed Versus Received During Opioid Deprescribing.The journal of pain · 2024Article
- A qualitative exploration of health care workers' approaches to relational harm reduction in HIV primary care settings.Harm reduction journal · 2024Article
- Impact of Opioid Dose Reductions on Patient-Reported Mental Health and Suicide-Related Behavior and Relationship to Patient Choice in Tapering Decisions.The journal of pain · 2024Article
- A Qualitative Exploration of Providers' Approaches to Relational Harm Reduction in HIV Primary Care Settings.Research square · 2024Article
- Patient Experiences and Clinical Outcomes in a Multidisciplinary Perioperative Transitional Pain Service.Journal of personalized medicine · 2023Article
- A meta-ethnography of how children and young people with chronic non-cancer pain and their families experience and understand their condition, pain services, and treatments.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2023Review
- Association Between Opioid Dose Reduction Rates and Overdose Among Patients Prescribed Long-Term Opioid Therapy.Substance abuse · 2023Article
- "I really had somebody in my corner." Patient experiences with a pharmacist-led opioid tapering program.Journal of the American Pharmacists Association : JAPhAArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundEfforts to reduce opioid overdose fatalities have resulted in tapering (i.e., reducing or discontinuing) opioid prescriptions despite a limited understanding of patients' experiences.
objectiveTo explore patients' perspectives on opioid taper experiences to ultimately improve taper processes and outcomes.
designQualitative study.
participantsPatients on long-term opioid therapy for chronic pain who had undergone a reduction of opioid daily prescribed dosage of ≥50% in the past 2 years in two distinct medical systems and regions. APPROACH: From 2019 to 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews that were audio-recorded, transcribed, systematically coded, and analyzed to summarize the content and identify key themes regarding taper experiences overall and with particular attention to patient-provider relationships and provider communication during tapers. KEY
resultsParticipants (n=41) had lived with chronic pain for an average of 17.4 years (range, 3-36 years) and described generally adverse experiences with opioid tapers, the initiation of which was not always adequately justified or explained to them. Consequences of tapers ranged from minor to substantial and included withdrawal, mobility issues, emotional distress, exacerbated mental health symptoms, and feelings of social stigmatization for which adequate supports were typically unavailable. Narratives highlighted the consequential role of patient-provider relationships throughout taper experiences, with most participants describing significant interpersonal challenges including poor provider communication and limited patient engagement in decision making. A few participants identified qualities of providers, relationships, and communication that fostered more positive taper experiences and outcomes.
conclusionsFrom patients' perspectives, opioid tapers can produce significant physical, emotional, and social consequences, sometimes reducing trust and engagement in healthcare. Patient-provider relationships and communication influence patients' perceptions of the quality and outcomes of opioid tapers. To improve patients' experiences of opioid tapers, tapering plans should be based on individualized risk-benefit assessments and involve patient-centered approaches and improved provider communication.
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Registered trials
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