Inter-Rater Reliability and Reception of the Michigan Opioid Safety Score

The Michigan Opioid Safety Score (MOSS) combines health risk, respiratory rate, and sedation measurement to guide safe opioid administration. This study was designed to assess reliability and nursing acceptance of the MOSS tool.

Cross-sectional survey.

Nurses without prior exposure to the tool were asked to participate in an online survey. In part I, raters utilized the MOSS to answer questions based on four fictional case scenarios. In part II, anonymous opinion of the tool was queried.

Participants correctly scored 58.1% of patient scenarios, while appropriate clinical action was 80.5%. The intraclass correlation coefficient was 0.83. In terms of opinion, a majority of raters agreed the tool positively impacted patient safety (59.2%), improved confidence in opioid therapy (59.2%), and was easy to use (53%).

Participants interpreted case scenarios with excellent inter-rater reliability and had a generally positive opinion. These study findings suggest the MOSS is a reliable safety instrument.