PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Simani M. Price
AU  - Amie C. O'Donoghue
AU  - Lou Rizzo
AU  - Saloni Sapru
AU  - Kathryn J. Aikin
TI  - Opioid Education and Prescribing Practices
AID  - 10.3122/jabfm.2021.04.200610
DP  - 2021 Jul 01
TA  - The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
PG  - 802--807
VI  - 34
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/34/4/802.short
4100  - http://www.jabfm.org/content/34/4/802.full
SO  - J Am Board Fam Med2021 Jul 01; 34
AB  - Background: Lack of training among health care providers (HCPs) to safely prescribe opioids is a contributing factor to the opioid crisis. Training and other resources have been developed to educate providers about safe and appropriate opioid prescribing practices.Method: The national survey was conducted with 2000 HCPs representing primary care physicians (PCPs), including family practice, general practice, and internal medicine; specialists (SPs); physician assistants (PAs); and nurse practitioners (NPs), a mix of primary care and specialists. This survey examined exposure to opioid educational information and opioid prescribing.Results: PCPs reported prescribing opioids for chronic pain to significantly more patients compared with other HCP groups. PCPs (89.8%) and NPs (85.5%) reported significantly greater exposure to opioid educational information compared with both SPs (71.9%) and PAs (78.8%). Overall, HCPs had limited knowledge about abuse-deterrent formulations, but PCPs had greater knowledge than other groups. HCPs had an increased likelihood of prescribing opioids to fewer patients in the last 3 months relative to the prior 12 months if they worked in a state or county clinic vs a solo or group practice type (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12–3.49) and were exposed to more opioid educational information during the last 12 months (AOR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.06–1.32).Discussion: HCPs' exposure to opioid educational information was associated with less opioid prescribing for chronic pain. Findings indicated a difference in exposure and knowledge gaps across provider groups. More information is needed on the content of opioid educational information provided to HCPs.