Changing opioid legislation to improve specialist palliative care in Romania

Abstract

Palliative care has developed in Romania over the last 20 years with new services opening each year. One barrier to providing specialist palliative care, particularly in the community setting, was restrictive opioid legislation resulting in poor access to adequate analgesia. Local palliative care professionals together with international experts and national authorities succeeded in changing the legislation, resulting in significant changes to national drug policy in Romania. A national education program was delivered to empower medical professionals with skills and knowledge to allow them to prescribe opioid analgesia safely and appropriately.