Opioid Reduction Initiative: A Retrospective Review of Prescriptions Among Various Providers, Observation, and Future Recommendations

Problem: More than 67 percent of the 70,237 overdose-related deaths in 2017 were attributed to opioids (Slovis et al., 2020). Post-surgical opioids account for 5% of the 191 million opioid prescriptions, with 80% of the opioids prescribed going unused (Stulberg et al., 2019).Aim: This project utilized a retrospective review of kidney transplants completed between February 2021 and August 2021 to establish the number of outpatient opioid prescriptions written during a 30-day global surgical period by various providers, assess the process of onboarding residents to the service, and provide a recommendation for future practice.Methods: This process evaluation was designed to provide information on the effectiveness of opioid reduction. Data was collected via retrospective chart review to measure the total number of prescriptions written at discharge, the number of tablets, refill requests within the 30-day surgical global period, type of provider, length of stay, and discharge day.Results: Ninety-three patients received a transplant, 61 (66%) received an opioid prescription, and 32 patients (36%) were discharged without an opioid prescription. Twenty-seven patients (29%) requested a refill before, during, or after their follow-up appointment but within 30 days of their discharge date. Ninety-four percent of patients received a prescription written by a nurse practitioner, with an average of 12.77 tablets prescribed per patient.Discussion: Discharge prescriptions were individualized to the patient and written based on the number of opioids required by the patient the day before discharge. The nurse practitioners implementing the opioid reduction initiative verbalized satisfaction with the variety in quantity prescribed and lower quantity tendencies.Keywords postoperative narcotic prescription, opioid use after surgery, opioid reduction postoperative, and chronic opioid use reduction

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Kansas

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Ryan, Clara N

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Paramesh, Colleen

• Nursing
• Pharmacology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright held by the author.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

http://dissertations.umi.com/ku:18319

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:kuscholarworks.ku.edu:1808/37130