Measuring What Matters: How the Laboratory Contributes Value in the Opioid Crisis

The opioid crisis has persisted for over two decades, prompting evolving strategies to manage opioid use and opioid use disorder. While progress has been made in addressing these challenges, a critical gap remains in the lack of standardized metrics to evaluate how organizations manage opioid stewardship. Prior research has shown that clinical laboratories generate objective, quantitative health data, which could be leveraged to support opioid management. However, no prior work had resolved how to translate this potential into actionable metrics. This gap motivated a collaborative effort to explore how laboratory insights could contribute to opioid stewardship. The Clinical Laboratory 2.0 movement emerged as a framework to develop standardized metrics. This uncertainty drove a structured process to assess the feasibility and importance of laboratory-based metrics. Existing knowledge suggested that health systems could benefit from data-driven approaches, but the specific role of clinical laboratories remained unclear. This paper's contribution is to define how laboratory data can be used to support opioid crisis response.

This study aimed to identify and prioritize laboratory-related metrics that could support opioid stewardship and opioid use disorder management. The goal was to determine how clinical laboratories could contribute to the opioid crisis response through standardized metrics. The specific problem addressed is the lack of actionable data from clinical laboratories to guide opioid prescribing and management. The motivation stems from the need to shift clinical laboratories into a more active role in healthcare systems. The study sought to evaluate the feasibility of using laboratory data to improve patient safety and reduce healthcare costs. The authors proposed that laboratory insights could inform clinical decisions related to opioid use. The study focused on developing metrics that could be monitored through dashboards or reports. The ultimate aim is to support clinical teams in addressing the opioid crisis through data-driven approaches.

The study involved a structured expert panel review process across five independent institutions. Experts assessed potential metrics based on their importance, usability, feasibility, and scientific acceptability. The National Quality Forum criteria were used to guide the evaluation process. A total of 37 metrics were developed, covering topics related to pain and substance use disorder management. The experts prioritized metrics that could be derived from clinical laboratory data. The process included evaluating how these metrics could impact clinical care for patients with opioid use disorder. The metrics were categorized based on their potential to support opioid stewardship. The final output included recommendations for how these metrics could be implemented through dashboards or embedded reports.

The study identified 37 metrics related to pain and substance use disorder management. These metrics were developed with input from clinical laboratory experts across five institutions. The metrics were evaluated based on their importance, usability, feasibility, and scientific acceptability. The highest-priority metrics focused on how laboratory insights could influence clinical decisions. The authors reported that these metrics could be used in summative reports or dashboards. The metrics were designed to support clinical teams in opioid prescribing and management. The study found that embedding these metrics in laboratory reports could improve patient safety. The results suggest that clinical laboratories can contribute to the opioid crisis response through standardized data collection.

The authors concluded that clinical laboratories can play an active role in addressing the opioid crisis. The study demonstrated that laboratory insights can support opioid stewardship and management of opioid use disorder. The findings suggest that standardized metrics derived from clinical laboratories can improve patient safety. The authors proposed that these metrics could be used in dashboards or embedded reports. The study highlights how clinical laboratories can shift into a more active healthcare role. The authors emphasized that this increased participation could reduce healthcare costs related to opioid use disorder. The findings align with the Clinical Laboratory 2.0 movement's goals. The study supports the idea that clinical laboratories can contribute valuable data to health systems.