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Christiana Care claims significant reduction in opioid prescription

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Doctors from Christiana Care Health System say they’ve significantly reduced the number of opioids the hospital prescribes.

Christiana Care is following a grant-funded program from the University of Michigan called the Opioid Prescription Engagement Network, or OPEN.

Doctors give post-discharge surveys to patients and use the data to set opioid prescription guidelines for various surgical procedures. Officials say 21 procedures at Christiana now have recommendations for the type of pain medication and quantity to prescribe after the patient leaves the hospital.

Anesthesiologist Matt Powell, M.D. says initial data shows the new policies to have reduced opioid prescription following some surgeries at Christiana Care by 40%.

“This is a much more effective, efficient and long-lasting solution because if you cut off the source of the problem, it’s going to be much easier to deal with later on,” said Powell.

The hospital also cites an almost 50% reduction in opioid prescriptions among patients discharged from the emergency department and a 37% reduction in opioids prescribed to chronic pain patients in primary care.

Linda Lang, M.D. is chair of Christiana Care’s Safe Opioid Stewardship Steering Committee and its Department of Psychiatry.

She says the hospital is treating pain in other ways. She lists non-opioid medications, mindfulness meditation, nerve blocking, anesthesia and exercise.

“Other appropriate, non-addictive medications that can be first line for patients that don’t really require opioids,” said Lang.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, about 80% of people who use heroin first misused prescription opioids.

In 2012, Delaware led the country with most opioids prescribed per capita, and by 2016 the state averaged one death a day from overdoses.

Christiana Care is part of a five-hospital collaborative called eBright Health working to standardize best prescription practices across the state. The group also includes Bayhealth, Nanticoke, Beebe Health and Nemours.

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