Washington State Pain Rules Information
Final Rules: Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission
Rules related to chronic non-cancer pain management were adopted in Washington State as of January 2, 2012. These rules relate to dosing criteria and guidance on: seeking consultations, tracking progress and tracking the use of opioids. Full text documents of the Washington State rules for medical doctors, physician’s assistants and other specialties can be found at: Washington State Department of Health: Pain Management Adopted Rules
Washington State Pain Rules
A brief overview of the Washington state pain rules can be found in the Physician Alert, released December 15, 2011 by PeaceHealth Laboratories:
Washington Activates New Rules for Pain Management January 2, 2012
Interagency Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Pain
The Agency Medical Directors’ Group has published comprehensive guidelines for a balanced approached to pain management. The 2015 update was developed in partnership with academic leaders, pain experts, and clinicians in both primary care and specialty areas:
2015 AMDG Interagency Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Pain
Dosing Calculator
The Agency Medical Directors’ Group offers this tool to assist providers in assessing their patient’s dosage in morphine equivalents per day:
Web-Based Opioid Dose Calculator
Free Opioid Dosing Guideline and DOH Pain Management Rules Online CME Activity
The Medical Quality Assurance Commission, in consultation with the Department of Health and the Agency Medical Directors’ Group, presents a FREE CME activity that offers four (4) hours of: Category 1 Credits™, or Washington Board of Pharmacy approved Continuing Education (C.E.) Credit(s).
Please note: The 2015 Interagency Guideline on Prescribing Opioids for Pain replaces the 2010 Opioid Dosing Guideline. For CME testing purposes, the 2010 CME test on the 2010 Opioid Dosing Guidelines may be used until the 2015 CME is available.
For more information visit:
Free CME Activity
Learn More about How to Protect Your Patients
PtProtect Pain Management Program