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Standardizing opioid prescribing practices based on procedure-specific
recommendations will streamline care, eliminate outlier surgeons and
ensure everyone in the facility provides a consistent message to
patients with respect to how many opioids they'll receive. If docs push
back against standardizing their opioid use, push back harder. Most
surgeons' prescribing habits are wrong and need to improve.
The one factor that determines how many pills patients take after
surgery is how many pills they receive. Studies have shown that with
appropriate patient education, not only did patients consume less
medication, but requests for refills did not increase. Surgeons who
want to limit opioid use must stop overprescribing. It's that simple.
OSM
Dr. Englesbe (englesbe@med.umich.edu) is a professor of surgery at the
University of Michigan and co-director of the Michigan Opioid Prescribing
Engagement Network (OPEN) in Ann Arbor.
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