Opioid Utilization and Perception of Pain Control in Hospitalized Patients: A Cross‐Sectional Study of 11 Sites in 8 Countries

Abstract

In the hospitals we sampled, our data suggest that physicians in the US may prescribe opioids more frequently during patients' hospitalizations and at discharge than their colleagues in other countries, and patients have different beliefs and expectations about pain control. Efforts to curb the opioid epidemic likely need to include addressing inpatient analgesic prescribing practices and patients' expectations regarding pain control.