Reducing Opioid Prescribing After Ambulatory Plastic Surgery With an Opioid-Restrictive Pain Protocol

Abstract

The PICASSO pain protocol resulted in a 20% decrease in opioid prescriptions and a 2.5-fold decrease in the oral morphine equivalent per prescription, equivalent to eighteen 5-mg oxycodone pills. This opioid-restrictive protocol can improve the analgesic prescribing culture in a plastic surgery department.