Statewide cross-sectional survey of emergency departments' adoption and implementation of the Ohio opioid prescribing guidelines and opioid prescribing practices

Jonathan Penm, Neil J. MacKinnon, Rebecca Mashni, Michael S. Lyons, Edmond A. Hooker, Erin L. Winstanley, Steve Carlton-Ford, Chloe Connelly, Erica Tolle, Jill Boone, Kathleen Koechlin, Jolene Defiore-Hyrmer

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Study objective To evaluate the implementation of the Ohio Emergency and Acute Care Facility Opioids and Other Controlled Substances Prescribing Guidelines and their perceived impact on local policies and practice. Methods The study design was a cross-sectional survey of emergency department (ED) medical directors, or appropriate person identified by the hospital, perception of the impact of the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines on their departments practice. All hospitals with an ED in Ohio were contacted throughout October and November 2016. Distribution followed Dillman's Tailored Design Method, augmented with telephone recruitment. Hospital chief executive officers were contacted when necessary to encourage ED participation. Descriptive statistics were used to assess the impact of opioid prescribing policies on prescribing practices. Results A 92% response rate was obtained (150/163 EDs). In total, 112 (75%) of the respondents stated that their ED has an opioid prescribing policy, is adopting one or is implementing prescribing guidelines without a specific policy. Of these 112 EDs, 81 (72%) based their policy on the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines. The majority of respondents strongly agreed/agreed that the prescribing guidelines have increased the use of the prescription drug monitoring programme (86%) and have reduced inappropriate opioid prescribing (71%). Conclusion This study showed that the Ohio ED Opioid Prescribing Guidelines have been widely disseminated and that the majority of EDs in Ohio are using them to develop local policies. The majority of respondents believed that the Ohio opioid prescribing guidelines reduced inappropriate opioid prescribing. However, prescribing practices still varied greatly between EDs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere020477
JournalBMJ Open
Volume8
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1 2018
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Health policy
  • quality in health care

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Medicine

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Statewide cross-sectional survey of emergency departments' adoption and implementation of the Ohio opioid prescribing guidelines and opioid prescribing practices'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this