A “just in time” educational intervention for opioid overprescribing in dialysis access surgery (28 March 2024)

Summary

Despite widespread efforts to combat the opioid epidemic, post-operative opioid overprescribing by doctors remains an ongoing contributor to opioid misuse. This US study aimed to evaluate the impact of a low-cost, reproducible “just in time” intervention on opioid prescribing in dialysis access operations.

Standardised opioid prescribing guidelines were emailed to residents on the vascular service on the first day of the rotation. Opioid prescriptions were reviewed for four years before and one year after this intervention. The results showed a decrease in patients discharged with opioids following the intervention, from 58% to 36%. For patients prescribed opioids, the median quantity decreased from 90 to 45 oral morphine equivalents.