Table 1.

Most Frequently Identified Common and Challenging Concerning Behaviors in Patients on Long-Term Opioid Therapy*

Behavior	Examples	Common†	Challenging†
Behavior 1: Missing appointments		3	6
Behavior 2: Taking opioids for symptoms other than pain	Anxiety, depression, sleep, or to produce euphoria	5	5
Behavior 3: Using more opioid medication than prescribed	Unsanctioned dose escalation, early refill requests, running out of medication early	22	7
Behavior 4: Asking for an increase in opioid dose	Demanding, repeatedly asking, or asking in the absence of a clinical change in pain	3	6
Behavior 5: Aggressive behavior towards provider or staff	Outbursts of anger, rude or demanding behavior, threats towards staff	2	9
Behavior 6: Alcohol and other substance use	Methamphetamine, cocaine, benzodiazepines, heroin, and marijuana	6	3

*Values given are the number of participants who selected the behavior as one of the two most common or two most challenging concerning behaviors

^† N = 42 participants in round 1