Association of Decreased Postsurgical Opioid Prescribing With Patients' Satisfaction With Surgeons.

ABSTRACT: Importance:Opioid overdose is the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Several studies have shown that surgeons overprescribe opioids, and guidelines for appropriate opioid prescribing are available. Concern about patient-reported satisfaction scores may be a barrier to surgeons adopting guideline-directed prescribing. Objective:To determine whether decreased opioid prescribing is associated with a decrease in patient-reported satisfaction with their surgeon. Design, Setting, and Participants:Retrospective analysis of clinician satisfaction scores at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center obtained in 2 periods: 1 before (period A) and 1 after (period B) an educational intervention that resulted in decreased opioid prescribing. The analysis included 11 surgeons who performed 5 common outpatient general surgical operations on 996 patients. Data were analyzed between March and August 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures:Patient-reported overall satisfaction rating of the surgeon (scale, 0-10). This was collected by a nonstudy-related, routine general institutional survey of approximately 40% of all outpatient encounters. Results:Of the total number of patients, 67% were women (667 of 996), and the mean patient age was 58 years. Comparing period A with B, the proportion of patients prescribed opioids decreased from 90.2% (n?=?367 of 407) to 72.8% (n?=?429 of 589) (P?

SUBMITTER: Louie CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6802424 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature