Access to Care for Patients with Chronic Pain Receiving Prescription Opioids, Cannabis, or Other Treatments

Abstract

Abstract Changes chronic noncancer pain treatment have led to decreases in prescribing of opioids and increases in the availability of medical cannabis, despite its federal prohibition. Patients may face barriers to establishing new care with a physician based on use of these treatments. We compared physician willingness to accept patients based on prescription opioid, cannabis, or other pain treatment use. This study of 36 states and DC with active medical cannabis programs surveyed physicians who treat patients with chronic noncancer pain between July 13 and August 4, 2023. Of 1,000 physician respondents (34.5% female, 63.2% white, 78.1% primary care), 852 reported accepting new patients with chronic pain. Among those accepting new patients with chronic pain, more physicians reported that they would not accept new patients taking prescription opioids (20.0%) or cannabis (12.7%) than non-opioid prescription analgesics (0.1%). In contrast, 68.1% reported willingness to accept new patients using prescribed opioids on a daily basis. For cannabis, physicians were more likely to accept new patients accessing cannabis through medical programs (81.6%) than from other sources (60.2%). Access to care for persons with chronic noncancer pain appears the most restricted among those taking prescription opioids, though patients taking cannabis may also encounter reduced access.