Implementing Electronic Health Record Default Settings to Reduce Opioid Overprescribing: A Pilot Study.

Objective: To pilot test the effectiveness, feasibility, and acceptability of instituting a 15-pill quantity default in the electronic health record for new Schedule II opioid prescriptions. Design: A mixed-methods pilot study in two health systems, including pre-post analysis of prescribed opioid quantity and focus groups or interviews with prescribers and health system administrators. Methods: We implemented a 15-pill electronic health record default for new Schedule II opioids and assessed opioid quantity before and after implementation using electronic health record data on 6,390 opioid prescriptions from 448 prescribers. We then analyzed themes from focus groups and interviews with four staff members and six prescribers. Results: The proportion of opioid prescriptions for 15 pills increased at both sites after adding an electronic health record default, with one reaching statistical significance (from 4.1% to 7.2% at CHC, P = 0.280, and 15.9% to 37.2% at WVU, P < 0.001). The proportion of 15-pill prescriptions increased among high-prescribing departments and among most high- and low-frequency prescribers, except for low-frequency prescribers at CHC. Sites reported limited challenges in instituting the default, although ease of implementation varied by electronic health record vendor. Most prescribers were not aware of the default change and stated that they made prescribing decisions based on patient clinical characteristics rather than defaults. Conclusions: This pilot provides initial evidence that changing default settings can increase the number of prescriptions at the default level. This low-cost and relatively simple intervention could have an impact on opioid overprescribing. However, default settings should be selected carefully to avoid unintended consequences.

Trends in Methadone Distribution for Pain Treatment, Methadone Diversion, and Overdose Deaths - United States, 2002-2014.

Use of the prescription opioid methadone for treatment of pain, as opposed to treatment of opioid use disorder (e.g., addiction), has been identified as a contributor to the U.S. opioid overdose epidemic. Although methadone accounted for only 2% of opioid prescriptions in 2009 (1), it was involved in approximately 30% of overdose deaths. Beginning with 2006 warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), efforts to reduce methadone use for pain have accelerated (2,3). The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and CDC analyzed methadone distribution, reports of diversion (the transfer of legally manufactured methadone into illegal markets), and overdose deaths during 2002-2014. On average, the rate of grams of methadone distributed increased 25.1% per year during 2002-2006 and declined 3.2% per year during 2006-2013. Methadone-involved overdose deaths increased 22.1% per year during 2002-2006 and then declined 6.5% per year during 2006-2014. During 2002-2006, rates of methadone diversion increased 24.3% per year; during 2006-2009, the rate increased at a slower rate, and after 2009, the rate declined 12.8% per year through 2014. Across sex, most age groups, racial/ethnic populations, and U.S. Census regions, the methadone overdose death rate peaked during 2005-2007 and declined in subsequent years. There was no change among persons aged ≥65 years, and among persons aged 55-64 years the methadone overdose death rate continued to increase through 2014. Additional clinical and public health policy changes are needed to reduce harm associated with methadone use for pain, especially among persons aged ≥55 years.