RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Academic Detailing for Postpartum Opioid Prescribing
JF The Journal of the American Board of Family
                Medicine
JO J Am Board Fam Med
FD American Board of Family Medicine
SP 944
OP 946
DO 10.3122/jabfm.2018.06.180071
VO 31
IS 6
A1 Katya Alcaraz Voelker
A1 Charles Schauberger
YR 2018
UL http://www.jabfm.org/content/31/6/944.abstract
AB Introduction: Overprescribing opioid pain medications has become a major concern in our society due to the increasing rates of substance use disorders and the rate of accidental overdoses. The widespread availability of opioid medications suggests that patients are being prescribed opioids in amounts larger than they require for pain control. Efforts are now being made on a variety of fronts to decrease overprescribing.Material and Methods: A quality-improvement model was applied to address this concern at one medical center in women being discharged from the hospital following childbirth. The rates and amounts at which opioids were prescribed to this population before and after an academic detailing intervention were compared.Results: The overall percentage of women who received prescriptions for opioid medications decreased from 100% to 93% in cesarean sections (P = .054) and 15% to 9% in vaginal deliveries (P = .03). The average prescription size decreased by 5 tablets (P < .0001).Implications: Simple quality-improvement methods may have a positive impact on opioid prescribing patterns, including decreasing the percentage of opioids postdelivery or the quantity of opioids per prescription.