Purpose: The heightened involvement of government organizations to improve pain management and mitigate opioid adverse events brings to light the need for an opioid stewardship model. Summary: The US opioid epidemic has resulted in new hospital requirements for pain management by regulatory agencies. Opioid stewardship is a concept in the early development stage of pharmacy practice. There exists a need for a cohesive vision of opioid stewardship and the role of the pharmacist. Over the course of 17 years, the tracks for opioid stewardship in Fairview Health Services were laid through numerous initiatives to mitigate adverse events and improve the quality of pain management. This article will describe a transformation process for establishing the framework for opioid stewardship within Fairview Health Services and role of the pharmacist. Conclusions: The vision for opioid stewardship will ultimately be defined through the actions taken to improve quality care and patient safety. Opioid safety should be expanded to include stewardship of approaches that reduce the risk of diversion, overdose, and medication abuse. Pharmacists currently have a major role monitoring opioid medication in hospitals and this component will increase with new regulatory requirements.
Keywords: JCAHO; adverse drug reactions reporting / monitoring; clinical services; monitoring drug therapy; pain management.