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# Joint Panel to Discuss High-dose Opioid Usage
- URL: https://www.fdaweb.com/joint-panel-to-discuss-high-dose-opioid-usage/
- Published: 2019-04-26T12:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-15T01:22:52.000Z
- Author: David McFarland
- Tags: Drugs, #legacy-id-D5143972

FDA has announced a joint meeting 6/11-12 of the Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to discuss safety concerns about safe prescribing and use of higher-range opioid doses. The agency is interested in learning more about how health care professionals are using the drugs in clinical practice and situations that may warrant higher-dose opioid analgesics, a [meeting notice](https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2019-08610.pdf?ref=fdaweb.com) says. “The meeting will also discuss the magnitude and frequency of harms associated with higher doses of opioid analgesics relative to lower doses − for example, a greater risk of overdose associated with a higher daily opioid dose − as well as optimal strategies for managing these risks while ensuring access to appropriate pain management for patients,” it says.

The meeting will include a discussion about:

- the specific clinical use of higher product strengths and daily doses and medical situations that may warrant pain management with the drugs as well as factors influencing prescribing practices;
- identifying specific patient populations for whom there may be clear benefits in prescribing opioids at higher doses;
- the magnitude and frequency of harms associated with opioid analgesics at higher product strengths and daily doses, relative to lower strengths and daily doses, including the role of opioid dose in adverse health outcomes in both patients and in others who may access the drugs – such as those at risk of developing addiction or experiencing a fatal overdose;
- potential FDA actions that may address these issues, as well as the expected impact any such actions may have on patients and public health more broadly.