Implementing Patient Education Tool for Safe Opioid Use in the Chronic Pain Setting: A Student-led Interprofessional Initiative
Interprofessional Student Poster Description:
Background: Opioid use disorders affect over 16 million people worldwide and over 2.1 million people in the United States. In the last 20 years, overdose deaths involving prescription opioids have increased by 5 times. The 2022 CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids describes patient education as a critical step in improving patient care when prescribing opioid medications. Patients who are prescribed opioids by the Vanderbilt Pain Clinic sign an opioid therapy consent form that lists the risks of these medications and expectations while taking them. However, this form is not patient-friendly, which can create a barrier for patients with low health literacy. Therefore, our interdisciplinary team developed a handout to improve the discussion between patients and their healthcare provider about safe opioid use at the Vanderbilt Pain Clinic. The aim of this project was to improve understanding of safe opioid usage in at least 50% of the patients that receive the Opioid Safety Guide.
Methods: Based on the current CDC opioid guideline, an informational pamphlet was created which included topics such as common side effects of opioids, strategies for staying safe while taking opioids, naloxone administration, and planned precautions to reduce risk. The pamphlet was reviewed with returning patients who had a prescription for opioid medications. Pre- and post-surveys were administered before and after the patient reviewed the pamphlet.
Results: After receiving the educational pamphlet, 88% of patients displayed improved understanding of safe opioid use. The average safe opioid use pre-survey score was 72%, and the average safe opioid use post-survey score was 97%.
Conclusions: Providing the informational pamphlet has a positive correlation with improved understanding of safe opioid usage. With the rising rates of opioid use disorders and opioid-related deaths in the United States, it is imperative that patients with opioid prescriptions for chronic pain receive proper education about its safety. Implementing educational pamphlets at the Vanderbilt Pain Clinic improved patient understanding of safe opioid use practices by facilitating conversations with patients. Pamphlets can be easily implemented since they are cost- and time-effective.
Reflections: Future considerations include incorporating safe opioid use pamphlets in other clinics, including primary care offices and surgical clinics. An additional consideration is to reduce barriers to access by providing the pamphlet in other languages so that it will be accessible to a larger patient population. Another factor to continue monitoring is patient health literacy and utilizing language that can be comprehended by those with limited education.
