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Developing and piloting an adaptable oxycodone quality improvement strategy: steps towards opioid stewardship.
Champika Pattullo1, Benita Suckling2, Sally Taylor3
1Clinical Pharmacology Department, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Clinical Pharmacology Department, Level 1 Ned Hanlon Building, Butterfield Street, Herston, Qld 4006, Australia. Email: peter.donovan@health.qld.gov.au; and Corresponding author.
Summary
Implementing adaptable quality improvement projects significantly enhanced tailored oxycodone prescribing in Australian hospitals. This initiative promotes safer opioid stewardship and better pain management practices for patients.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology and Therapeutics
- Health Services Research
- Implementation Science
Background:
- Rising rates of prescription opioid utilization and harm in Australia.
- Hospital prescribing practices, particularly oxycodone, contribute to long-term opioid use.
- Need for evidence-based strategies to implement tailored opioid prescribing in clinical settings.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and evaluate adaptable resources for optimizing oxycodone prescribing.
- To introduce and implement principles of opioid stewardship in Australian hospitals.
- To assess the impact of quality improvement projects on tailored oxycodone prescribing practices.
Main Methods:
- Development of adaptable resources based on implementation science principles.
- Conducting local prescribing audits of oxycodone to inform educational strategies.
- Piloting and evaluating context-sensitive educational interventions in emergency departments and surgical settings.
Main Results:
- Significant improvement in tailored oxycodone prescribing on discharge in emergency departments (62% to 90%).
- Increased tailored prescribing in surgical settings (76% to 91%) with a concurrent halving of oxycodone prescriptions issued (36% to 18%).
- Demonstrated effectiveness of prescriber-led, adaptable quality improvement projects.
Conclusions:
- Facilitated, adaptable, prescriber-led quality improvement projects effectively enhance tailored oxycodone prescribing.
- The developed strategies provide a practical platform for advancing opioid stewardship in Australian healthcare.
- Focus on tailored pain management rather than solely opioid reduction is achievable and beneficial.
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