A decision-support framework developed by management science researchers from The University of Texas at Dallas could help clinicians objectively identify and estimate harms and benefits of opioid use for pain management. “The ongoing opioid epidemic has been a serious public health problem, and prescription opioids play a role in this problem,” said Dr. Metin Cakanyildirim, professor of operations management and one of the study’s authors. The agency emphasizes evaluation of trade-offs in opioid use and directs clinicians to assess pain, check patient opioid history, discuss adverse effects and observe patient cues for drug abuse. Accurately incorporating adverse effects into the decision-support framework yields pain-management models for chronic, acute and persistent pain types. A framework could draw a clinician’s attention to the adverse effects or limit their prescription until the handover, he said.