Perceptions of Community-Dwelling Patients and Their Physicians on OxyContin® Discontinuation and the Impact on Chronic Pain Management

Table 4

Themes identified from physician interviews.

Theme	Subthemes
(1) Support for the motive for discontinuation	Approve discontinuation	Support nonfunding and restricted access of OxyNEO	Addiction potential of OxyContin exceeds that of alternate drugs	Sufficient alternate drugs to OxyContin
(2) Discontinuation insignificantly impacted pain control	Patients attain similar pain relief with alternate medications	Transition to other drugs carried out efficiently	Sufficient alternate drugs to choose from	Unsatisfactory outcome ascribed to medication abuse
(3) Sufficient resources for opioid prescribing	Appropriate prescribing of opioids results in safe and effective use	Lack of adherence to existing guidelines is the real issue	Narcotic database will enhance monitoring strategies
(4) Disapproval of generics	Existing pain medications are adequate	Introduction of generics defeats discontinuation	Physicians do not prescribe generics	Generics drug of choice for addicts
(5) Barriers and opportunities in optimizing care	Switching to a different medication was successfully accomplished	Exceptional Access Program made it extremely difficult to access OxyNEO	Abruptness of the change with short notice period to change drugs	Delay in notifying professionals and in processing applications for patients to start receiving OxyNEO