Activities and Outcomes of the University of North Carolina Family Medicine Center Controlled Medication Advisory Board, 2015–2018
| Activities | Results |
|---|---|
| Number of referrals | 117 |
| Sources of referrals | 55 providers made referrals (Range, 1–11 referrals per provider) |
| Opioid Risk Tool Score* | High risk (ORT > 8), 38% (n = 24) Moderate risk (ORT 4–7), 36% (n = 23) Lower risk (ORT < 4), 27% (n = 17) |
| Outcomes | Percent of referrals |
|---|---|
| Treatment plan revision recommended | 60% (n = 70/117) |
| Exemptions to policy approved | 3% (n = 4/117) |
| Recommendation to refer to behavioral health provider | 39% (n = 46/117) |
| Opioid decrease recommended by CMAB† | 40% (39/98‡) |
| Of these, recommended decrease was successfully achieved | 64% (25/39) |
| Benzodiazepine decrease recommended by CMAB | 20% (20/98‡) |
| Of these, recommended decrease was successfully achieved | 65% (n = 13/20) |
| Naloxone was prescribed following recommendation by CMAB review | 79% (n = 26/33) |
| Urine screen was conducted within 3 months following CMAB review | 71% (n = 83/117) |
| Patient deceased (all were non-opioid deaths due to health conditions or natural causes) | 5% (n = 6/117) |
| Patients no longer seen at FMC (of these, 5 [22%] left because they followed their primary care physician when they relocated to a new practice) | 20% (n = 23/117) |
CMAB, controlled medication advisory board; FMC, Family Medicine Center; ORT, Opioid Risk Tool.
↵* Data available for 64 patients, assesses risk of opioid abuse
↵† An opioid decrease was only recommended in 39 patients. Most of the other patients fit in the following categories: opioids already appropriately low dose, opioids already in the process of being tapered, or CMAB recommended not restarting opioids.
↵‡ This denominator of 98 is less than 117 because several of our CMAB referrals did not receive full consults due to very specific questions such as urine toxicology screen interpretation or help with referral processes.