A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia found that tailored feedback to surgeons dramatically reduces excessive opioid prescriptions for common surgeries.
Here are seven findings from the study, published June 11 in JAMA Surgery:
1. Aligning prescribing practices with evidence-based guidelines can address overprescribing and its side effects, such as opioid dependence and diversion of unused pills.
2. The study leveraged behavioral science and patient-reported data to help surgeons compare their prescribing practices with those of colleagues treating similar procedures in the same health system.
3. “This work moves us closer to personalized pain management,” said Kit Delgado, MD, director and co-chair of the Penn Medicine Opioid Task Force and associate professor of emergency medicine, in a June 11 news release. “By right sizing opioid prescriptions based on patient needs by procedure, we’re lowering the risk of harms while ensuring patients get the care they need.”
4. Over the last five years, the Center for Health Care Transformation and Innovation at Philadelphia-based Penn Medicine developed a text-messaging system to track patients’ pain and opioid use. The system revealed that patients often used far fewer pills than prescribed, helping to inform the study’s guidelines and feedback strategy.
5. Feedback used in the trial included data on how many pills patients typically took after a given procedure and their pain management outcomes when prescribed within guideline-recommended limits.
6. The study found that in multiple high-volume surgical divisions, access to this data led to a substantial increase in guideline adherence and a reduction in overprescribing.
7. Before accessing the data, 60% of prescriptions in the control group exceeded recommendations. These improvements were sustained even after the feedback stopped, and patients’ pain scores remained unchanged.
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