Effect of different interventions to help primary care clinicians avoid unsafe opioid prescribing in opioid-naive patients with acute noncancer pain: a cluster randomized clinical trial.
Kraemer KL, Althouse AD, Salay M, et al. Effect of different interventions to help primary care clinicians avoid unsafe opioid prescribing in opioid-naive patients with acute noncancer pain: a cluster randomized clinical trial. JAMA Health Forum. 2022;3(7):e222263. doi:10.1001/jamahealthforum.2022.2263.
Nudges (e.g., default order sets) in the electronic health record (EHR) have been shown to encourage safer prescribing of opioids in emergency departments. This study evaluated the effect of nudges to reduce opioid prescribing for opioid-naïve patients with acute pain. Primary care practices were cluster randomized to control, opioid justification in the EHR, peer comparison, or combined opioid justification and peer comparison groups. The three intervention groups showed reduced opioid prescribing compared to control.