Development and implementation of a primary care clinic workflow protocol to meet opioid prescribing guidelines

Nearly 50% of opioid overdose deaths in the United States involve the use of prescription opioids. Primary care providers can help decrease the risk of opioid overdose deaths by adhering to opioid prescribing guidelines for chronic pain management.

Ten Washington State primary care clinics had gaps in guideline adherence and mandated electronic medical record (EMR) documentation for prescribing opioids.

A quality improvement project using an educational intervention was implemented.

Primary care providers and support staff (defined as registered nurses and medical assistants) from the 10 primary care clinics viewed the project's instructional YouTube webinar that explained the project's primary care clinic workflow protocol, opioid prescribing best practice guidelines, and the organization's mandated EMR charting for chronic pain management. Preintervention and postintervention measures, which included five different documented patient completion rates of the organization's best practices for opioid prescribing, were used to assess for improvement to guideline adherence. Additionally, participants completed a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of the webinar as an educational tool.

Postintervention data showed significantly (p ≤ .05) increased completion rates for three of five outcome measures, indicating improvement in guideline adherence. The majority of participants reported that the webinar information would help them better adhere to best practice guidelines.

A workflow protocol for opioid prescribing taught via a YouTube webinar was an effective method for disseminating and implementing best practices in the primary care setting. Similar workflow protocols, taught via webinar, could be equally beneficial in other primary care clinics.