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    Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program

    Governor Dayton and the Minnesota Legislature established the Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program (OPIP) in 2015 to reduce opioid dependency and misuse in Minnesota related to opioid prescriptions. The Opioid Prescribing Work Group met from 2015 through 2021 to develop program elements and provide recommendations to the state. The program includes:

    • Statewide opioid prescribing guidelines for three pain phases, Acute, Post-acute, and Chronic pain.
    • Annual reports to prescribers who serve Minnesotans on public health care programs using a set of sentinel opioid prescribing measures
    • A quality improvement program for prescribers who serve Minnesotans on public health care programs and whose prescribing behavior is outside of community standards 
    • Education resources for providers about prescribing opioids for pain management.

    OPIP excludes patients diagnosed with cancer or who receive hospice or palliative care services.

    Goals and expectations

    The goal of the Opioid Prescribing Improvement Program is to work collaboratively with the Minnesota medical community to:

    • Reduce inappropriate or excessive opioid prescribing for acute and post-acute pain
    • Reduce inappropriate variation in opioid prescribing for acute and post-acute pain
    • Support patients who remain on chronic opioid analgesic therapy through patient-centered, multimodal treatment approaches, improved monitoring of safety and harm reduction strategies.

    OPIP and state licensure requirements

    Minnesota Statute 214.12, subdivision 6, effective Jan. 1, 2020, requires all health care licensees who have the authority to prescribe controlled substances to obtain two hours of continuing education credits.  However, health care providers who participate in OPIP are exempt from the requirement. 

    Providers cannot opt-in to OPIP, participation is determined by whether a provider has prescribed outpatient opioid analgesic therapy to a Medicaid or MinnesotaCare enrollee. Providers who received a 2020 or 2021 DHS prescribing report are considered OPIP participants and are exempt from the continuing education requirement around opioid prescribing. Providers who are unsure of their OPIP status may request this information by completing an online form.

    All other questions about licensing and the new continuing education requirement should be directed to a provider’s respective board:

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