” <a href="#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3">[3]</a>  Even the introduction to the Non-Acute Pain Guidelines indicates that the Guidelines were drafted in response to the dramatic increase in use of opioids to treat chronic non-cancer pain.  The significant cost of opioid medications is not only borne by carriers, but also by claimants.  The medication itself is expensive, the risks of use of these medications are significant; add to that the possibility of overdose, and the personal and financial costs become immeasurable.  All of these reasons fashioned the backdrop for the implementation of the Non-Acute Pain