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Impact of policy-based and institutional interventions on postoperative opioid prescribing practices. American journal of surgery Titan, A., Doyle, A., Pfaff, K., Baiu, I., Lee, A., Graham, L., Shelton, A., Hawn, M. 2021

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We assessed the impact of policy-based and institutional interventions to limit postoperative opioid prescribing.METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent laparoscopic/open appendectomies, laparoscopic/open cholecystectomies, and laparoscopic/open inguinal hernia repair during a 6-month interval in 2018 (control), 2019 (post-policy intervention), and 2020 (post-institutional intervention) to assess changes in postoperative opioid prescribing patterns. A survey was collected for the 2020 cohort.RESULTS: Comparing the 762 patients identified in 2018, 2019, and 2020 cohorts there was a significant decrease in mean opioid tabs prescribed (23.5±8.9 vs. 16.2±7.0 vs. 12.8±4.9, p<0.01) and mean OME dosage (148.0±68.0 vs. 108.6±51.8 vs. 95.4±38.0, p<0.01), without a difference in refill requests. Patient survey (response rate 63%) indicated 91.4% of patients reported sufficient pain control.CONCLUSION: Formalized opioid-prescribing guidelines and statewide regulations can significantly decrease postoperative opioid prescribing with good patient satisfaction. Surgeon education may facilitate efforts to minimize narcotic over-prescription without compromising pain management.

View details for DOI 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2021.02.004

View details for PubMedID 33593614