The Idaho state Board of Medicine adopted new guidelines for prescribing opioids for chronic pain during a recent meeting.

A draft of the guidelines was approved by the board in December. Public hearings were held on the draft guidelines in Boise, Pocatello and Coeur d’Alene during January and February.

Purpose of the new guidelines is to clarify and update guidelines that were written in the 1980s.

The board recommends physicians pay particular attention to patients who misuse prescriptions, particularly those with a history of substance abuse.

“Narcotic medications and other controlled substances are an important part of the modern pharmacopeia. A problem arises when they are prescribed, administered or dispensed by a physician without documented medical need,” the report says.