The Royal Australian College of GPs (RACGP) is encouraging people living with persistent pain to work closely with their GP to find the right treatment and support, while calling on the next Victorian Government to improve access to Medication-Assisted Treatment for Opioid Dependence (MATOD) through general practice.
Marking National Pain Week, the RACGP said pain is a complex health issue that often requires a holistic, long-term approach rather than reliance on medicines alone.
RACGP Victoria Co-Deputy Chair Dr Aadhil Aziz said GPs play a vital role helping patients manage pain, maintain quality of life, and where appropriate, deprescribe medicines that may no longer be providing benefit.
"Living with chronic pain can have a profound impact on every aspect of a person's life, including their physical health, mental wellbeing, relationships, and ability to work," he said.
"Your GP can support you to manage pain. Good holistic care means minimising pain, including supporting you to move off pain medication when it's no longer providing benefit.
"Addiction too often catches a patient using these medicines by surprise. They shouldn't suffer in silence.
"That's why it's so important people feel comfortable talking openly with their GP about their pain, their medicines, and any concerns they may have.
"Pain should never be stigmatised, and neither should dependence on a medicine that was originally prescribed to help. Many patients find themselves in difficult circumstances through no fault of their own and deserve compassionate, evidence-based care."
Dr Aziz said Victoria's specialist GPs increasingly support patients to safely reduce or stop medicines where the risks outweigh the benefits, including opioid medicines used for pain management.
"The goal is always better health outcomes and quality of life," he said.
"In many cases that means looking at the whole picture, including physical activity, mental health support, sleep, social connection and other treatments that can help people manage pain safely and effectively."
The RACGP recently worked with Monash University researchers, pharmacists, nurses and medical scientists to help develop Australia's first national deprescribing roadmap, designed to support safer use of medicines and reduce harms associated with unnecessary or inappropriate medication use.
Dr Aziz said Victoria also needed stronger support systems for people experiencing opioid dependence.
"GPs are often the first point of contact for patients experiencing problems related to prescription opioids or other medicines," he said.
"That's why the RACGP is calling on the next Victorian Government to support more GPs to undertake training and provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid dependence [MATOD] through general practice.
"Improving access to MATOD means patients can get support from a trusted GP in their local community, reducing barriers to treatment and helping more people access care earlier.
"Medicare funding often doesn't match the cost of the longer consultations which patients need for this kind of complex care, and patients are typically left to cover the gap – if they can. That's another reason the RACGP and patient representatives been calling for a 40% boost to funding for long consults.
"No Victorian should miss out on treatment because they can't find a local GP with the training and support needed to provide this care."
The RACGP is also encouraging Victorian GPs with an interest in addiction medicine and dependency care to attend the upcoming GPADD Conference, which brings together clinicians and experts to share the latest evidence and best practice approaches.
"Addiction medicine isn't a niche – and the GPADD theme reflects that providing care for patients affected by alcohol and other drug use is part of normal, bread-and-butter general practice," Dr Aziz said.
"GPs are very often our patients' first point of contact, and the conference program covers opioid stewardship and governance, ADHD, family violence co-occurring with substance use, and sessions on alcohol, party drugs, and prescription opioids, as well as self-care and burnout prevention.
"There's something there for every GP and addiction medicine multidisciplinary team member."
