*3.2. Demographic and Professional Characteristics*

The proportion of men among the physicians surveyed was 69%. Most of the respondents (69%) were middle-aged (40–59 years of age), resulting in a huge group of participants (74%) with around 10–30 years of professional experience. The largest category of physicians who regularly prescribed opioids for CNCP according to this survey were general practitioners (60%), followed by specialist internists (25%), anesthetists (11%) and orthopedists (6%). All other specialist groups were equal to or less than 2% (Table 1). Most of the physicians worked in their own practice (Table 1).

**Figure 1.** Flow chart of the study.

**Table 1.** Demographic and professional characteristics of the physicians surveyed.


<sup>a</sup> Sum of expertise fields is >600 because some physicians have more than one specialization.

#### *3.3. Self-Reports of the Opioid Ingredients and Galenics Prescribed*

Transdermal fentanyl (99%), slow-release morphine (98%) and slow-release oxycodone (91%) were reported to be prescribed most frequently for CNCP in this survey. Of the 600 participants, 41% and 49% prescribed sublingual forms of buprenorphine and the ultrafast acting application of fentanyl (oral or nasal), respectively. The frequency of the other prescribed opioids for CNCP is shown in Table 2.

**Table 2.** Self-reported opioid prescribing behavior: opioid variant and formulations.

