Alternatives to opioids for pain management in the emergency department decreases opioid usage and maintains patient satisfaction

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2019

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess opioid use in an emergency department following the development and implementation of an alternative to opioids (ALTO)-first approach to pain management. The study also assessed how implementation affected patient satisfaction scores. Methods: This study compared data collected from October to December of 2015 (prior to implementation) to data collected between October and December of 2016 (after the intervention had been implemented). Emergency department visits during the study timeframe were included. Opioid reduction was measured in morphine equivalents (ME) administered per visit. Secondary outcomes on patient satisfaction were gathered using the Press Ganey survey. Results: Intravenous (IV) opioid administration during the study period decreased by >20%. The predicted mean ME use in 2016 was 0.25 ME less when compared to 2015 (95% CI −0.27 to −0.23). Estimated use for patients in the pre-implementation period was 1.45 ME mgs (SD 0.88), and 1.13 ME mg (SD 0.69) for patients in the post-implementation period. Patient satisfaction scores using the Press Ganey Scale also were assessed. There was no significant difference in the scores between 2015 and 2016 when patients were asked “How well was you pain controlled?” (−0.94, 95% CI −5.29 to 3.4) and “How likely are you to recommend this emergency department?” (−1.55, 95% CI −5.26 to 2.14). Conclusion: In conclusion, by using an ALTO-first, multimodal treatment approach to pain management, participating clinicians were able to significantly decrease the use of IV opioids in the emergency department. Patient satisfaction scores remained unchanged following implementation.

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