No. | High-priority research topics | CSPCP importance rating* |
1 | Identify which outpatient palliative care clinic patients should have urine drug tests | 3 |
2 | Determine the frequency at which urine drug tests should be done in outpatient palliative care clinics | 3 |
3 | Evaluate the use of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition opioid use disorder criteria to identify patients with life-limiting illnesses who have opioid use disorders | 3.2 |
4 | Evaluate the use of the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Fifth Edition opioid use disorder criteria to identify patients with life-limiting illnesses who are at high risk of opioid overdose | 3 |
5 | Evaluate the use of screening tools to identify patients with life-limiting illnesses who have opioid use disorders (eg, Opioid Risk Tool, Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain) | 3.4 |
6 | Evaluate the use of screening tools to identify patients with life-limiting illnesses who are at high risk of opioid overdose (eg, Opioid Risk Tool, Screener and Opioid Assessment for Patients with Pain) | 3 |
7 | Determine how often should palliative care patients who are at high risk or have aberrant opioid medication-taking behaviours, opioid use disorder or overdose, be monitored | 3.5 |
8 | Determine which patients with life-limiting illnesses should receive pill counts | 3.3 |
*The Canadian Society of Palliative Care Physicians (CSPCP) reviewed the 59 topics that did not reach consensus through the Delphi process and used a 5-point Likert Scale to rate the importance of conducting research about each topic. The format of the 5-point Likert Scale was as follows: 0—not at all important, 1—slightly important, 2—moderately important, 3—very important, 4—extremely important.