Development of an Institutional Opioid Prescriber Education Program and Opioid-Prescribing Guidelines

Abstract

We developed a prescriber education program and followed up with consensus-based guidelines for postoperative opioid prescriptions. These interventions caused a significant decrease in excessive opioid-prescribing practices after ambulatory orthopaedic surgery at our hospital. We urge initiatives by national orthopaedic organizations to develop and promote education programs and procedure and disease-specific opioid-prescribing guidelines.