Evidence status: CURRENT WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SHARED-DECISION AGREEMENT CONTENT. Colorado’s Chronic Pain Disorder guideline identifies specific subjects to include in the opioid agreement used for long-term workers’ compensation treatment.
Shared-decision agreement subjects
The guideline calls for an agreement addressing:
- Expected medication side effects.
- The requirement to continue active therapy.
- Functional goals, including return to work in most cases.
- Reasons opioid management may be terminated, tapered, or referred to addiction treatment.
Examples of termination or taper triggers
The guideline gives examples that may be included in the agreement, including diversion, lack of functional benefit, noncompliant use of other drugs, drug-screen results inconsistent with treatment, refill requests outside defined time frames, pill-count nonadherence, excessive sedation, lack of functional gains, dose escalation without benefit, apparent hyperalgesia, signs of substance-use disorder, overdose, or warning signs for overdose risk.
Reading level
The guideline states that patient agreements should be written at approximately a sixth-grade reading level to improve comprehension.
Written informed consent
The chronic-pain guideline also calls for informed, written, witnessed consent and counseling on safe storage and disposal of opioids.
Contract terms versus statewide law
These agreement provisions are part of the workers’ compensation treatment guideline. They should not be presented as mandatory terms for every private Colorado pain practice outside the workers’ compensation system.
Primary source
Reviewed: October 5, 2026.