Impact of an emergency department opioid prescribing guideline on emergency physician behaviour and incidence of overdose in the Saskatoon Health Region: a retrospective pre-post implementation analysis.

BACKGROUND: Deaths related to opioid overdoses are increasing in North America, with the emergency department being identified as a potential contributor toward this epidemic. Our goal was to determine whether a departmental guideline for the prescribing of restricted medications resulted in a reduction in opioids prescribed in a Canadian setting, with a secondary objective of determining the impact on local overdose frequency. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of the prescribing habits of emergency department physicians in 3 hospitals in the Saskatoon Health Region, Saskatchewan, before (Nov. 1, 2015, to Apr. 30, 2016) and after (Nov. 1, 2016, to Apr. 30, 2017) implementation of a guideline in September 2016 for the prescribing of restricted medications. We quantified opioids prescribed per hour worked and per patient seen. We performed Student paired 2-tailed t tests for both individual drug formulations and the combined total morphine equivalents. RESULTS: Thirty-two emergency department physicians were included. We found a decrease of 31.1% in opioids prescribed, from 10.36 morphine milligram equivalents (MME) per patient seen to 7.14 MME per patient seen (absolute change -3.22 MME, 95% confidence interval -4.81 to -1.63 MME). Over the same period, we found no change in prehospital naloxone use and a modest increase in the amount of naloxone dispensed by emergency department pharmacies. There was no decrease in the number of overdoses after guideline implementation. INTERPRETATION: Implementation of a guideline for the prescribing of restricted medications in a Canadian emergency department setting was associated with a decrease in the quantity of opioids prescribed but not in the number of overdoses. This finding suggests that the emergency department is unlikely the source of opioids used in acute overdose, although emergency department opioid prescriptions cannot be ruled out as a risk factor for opioid use disorder.

Residents' perspective of quality improvement and patient safety education in Canadian emergency medicine residency programs.

OBJECTIVES: Quality improvement and patient safety (QIPS) competencies are increasingly important in emergency medicine (EM) and are now included in the CanMEDS framework. We conducted a survey aimed at determining the Canadian EM residents' perspectives on the level of QIPS education and support available to them. METHODS: An electronic survey was distributed to all Canadian EM residents from the Royal College and Family Medicine training streams. The survey consisted of multiple-choice, Likert, and free-text entry questions aimed at understanding familiarity with QIPS, local opportunities for QIPS projects and mentorship, and the desire for further QIPS education and involvement. RESULTS: Of 535 EM residents, 189 (35.3%) completed the survey, representing all 17 medical schools; 77.2% of respondents were from the Royal College stream; 17.5% of respondents reported that QIPS methodologies were formally taught in their residency program; 54.7% of respondents reported being "somewhat" or "very" familiar with QIPS; 47.2% and 51.5% of respondents reported either "not knowing" or "not having readily available" opportunities for QIPS projects and QIPS mentorship, respectively; 66.9% of respondents indicated a desire for increased QIPS teaching; and 70.4% were interested in becoming involved with QIPS training and initiatives. CONCLUSIONS: Many Canadian EM residents perceive a lack of QIPS educational opportunities and support in their local setting. They are interested in receiving more QIPS education, as well as project and mentorship opportunities. Supporting residents with a robust QIPS educational and mentorship framework may build a cohort of providers who can enhance the local delivery of care.

An Assessment of Handover Culture and Preferred Information in the Transitions of Care of Elderly Patients.

Introduction Transitions of care for elderly patients in long term care (LTC) to the emergency department (ED) is fraught with communication challenges. Information preferred during these transitions has not been agreed upon. We sought to understand our local handover culture and identify what information is preferred in the transitions of care of these patients. Methods We performed a cross-sectional electronic survey that was distributed to 1470 healthcare providers (HCPs) and 82 patient and family advocates (PFAs) in two Canadian cities. The HCP group consisted of physicians and nurses in ED and LTC settings as well as paramedics. The survey was open for a period of one month with formal reminders sent weekly. Results A total of 12.9% of HCPs and 26.8% of PFAs responded to the survey. Only 41.3% of HCP respondents were aware of existing handover protocols and 83.2% indicated a desire for a single page handover form. HCPs identified concerns over handover culture surrounding workplace inefficiencies and increased demands to their time. Several preferred items of information in the transitions of care for the institutionalized elderly patient were also identified across both HCP and PFA groups. Conclusions Our study identified a need for improved local handover culture in transitions of care for the institutionalized elderly patient. We also identified the preferred elements of information during bilateral communication between LTC and the ED. Our results will be used to design a patient-centred handover form for future use in this population.