New research suggests that stricter monitoring by physician offices and clinics, including user testing, implementation of a user registry, and stronger staff training, can help prevent the abuse of prescription painkillers like OxyContin and Vicodin.

Heath Day News reported April 10 that researchers at the University of Michigan and Ohio State University found that a strictly defined policy helps to identify patients using illicit drugs, allowing staff to be more aware of potential painkiller abusers who could be directed to treatment and counseling.

The study found that patients receiving OxyContin or other medications containing oxycodone were twice as likely as other opioid registry patients to violate the clinic policy. The new policy called for a registry of all patients receiving opioid prescriptions, screening of patients from the moment they called for an appointment, and annual and random urine screening.

"Many of us in the clinic were surprised at what we found, because a doctor's job is first and foremost to trust the patient as they tell us about their pain," study author Jennifer Meddings of the University of Michigan Medical School said. "But in order to confront this issue, and protect our ability to prescribe these drugs to the patients who truly need them, we need to have a uniform approach for all patients."

The study was conducted by the University of Michigan/Ohio State University, and was presented April 10 at the Society for General Internal Medicine annual meeting in Pittsburgh.