Buyback Program of Unused Prescription Opioids in US Rural Communities, 2017-2018

Objective. To implement an opioid buyback program after ambulatory surgery.Methods. We performed a prospective cohort study of 578 opioid-naïve patients prescribed opioids after ambulatory surgery at a rural US Veterans Affairs (VA) hospital from 2017 to 2018. We reimbursed $5 per unused opioid pill ($50 limit) returned to our VA for proper disposal. We tracked the number of participants, number of unused opioid pills returned, surgeon prescribing, and refill requests.Results. Out of 578 eligible patients, 171 (29.6%) returned 2136.5 unused opioid pills. Information shared with surgeons after 6 months led to a 27% decrease in opioid prescribing without an increase in refills.Conclusions. With this opioid buyback program, rural patients had a safe and convenient place to dispose of unused opioids. Surgeons used information about returns to adjust opioid prescribing after common ambulatory surgeries without an increase in refill requests.Public Health Implications. Although providers prescribe within state opioid guidelines, there will be variations in patient use after ambulatory surgery. An opioid buyback program helped our patients and surgeons decrease unused prescription opioids available for diversion in our rural communities.