Opioid Tapering After Hospital Discharge: Testing an Intervention to Improve Post-operative Opioid Prescribing

Summary

The investigator team proposes a randomized clinical trial (RCT) to test a discharge opioid taper support ("DOTS") intervention that is embedded in the providers' workflow in the EHR to prompt them to prescribe an opioid taper for patients after orthopedic surgery that is tailored to patients' expected analgesic needs. DOTS includes: 1) a recommendation for a patient-specific opioid taper schedule based on opioid use prior to discharge, 2) an automated discharge opioid prescription based on the recommended taper schedule that providers can override, 3) a patient facing handout and 4) post-discharge telephonic support for patients.

Providers will be randomly assigned 1:1 to 2 groups and who will each be assigned to DOTS ("DOTS providers") or TS ("TS providers") in a step-wedge design. EHR data will be extracted and telephone surveys of 100 patients over 12 weeks will be conducted after hospital discharge.

The two specific aims are:

1. To determine the effectiveness of DOTS for reducing excessive opioid prescribing after orthopedic surgery.

Hypothesis 1: Patients discharged by DOTS providers will be prescribed a lower initial mean morphine equivalent daily dose (MMED), fewer opioid pills, and over 12 weeks, will have fewer subsequent opioid prescriptions and incident long-term opioid therapy, compared to patients discharged by non-DOTS providers.

Hypothesis 2. Age and frailty will be moderators; DOTS will be more effective at reducing excessive prescribing to older (65 years and older) and frailer patients.
2. To determine the positive and negative impact of DOTS on patient outcomes.

Hypothesis 3: Compared to patients of non-DOTS providers, patients of DOTS providers will have improved pain and function, fewer adverse events, and less emergency post-operative care.

Hypothesis 4: Age and frailty will be moderators; DOTS will be more effective at improving positive and reducing negative outcomes in older and frailer patients.

Conditions

• Opioid Tapering

Interventions

OTHER

Treatment as Usual (TAU)

In treatment as usual, orthopedic providers at the Hospital treat patients' pain after surgery with opioid medications as needed based on patients' level of pain on the 11-point visual analog scale (typically, 1 or 2 oxycodone 5mg tablets, taken up to 6 times per day, or 1 or 2 hydromorphone 2 mg tablets, for pain at least 6 out of 10). When a patient is ready for discharge, the orthopedic provider prepares Discharge Instructions for the patient to take home and completes a prescription for opioid and non-opioid medications (typically, acetaminophen, ibuprofen, and pregabalin) in the Hospital EHR (Epic). In New York State, all prescriptions are "e-prescribed" through the EHR and transmitted directly to the pharmacy; none are on paper.

OTHER

Telephonic Support (TS) Providers

Providers assigned to TS only arm will continue with their current post-operative discharge practices. The only new feature in the EHR is that the standard Discharge Instructions will provide a telephone number that patients can call after discharge for any questions relating to their pain and opioid medication management. The telephone number will reach a study physician assistant (PA) or voicemail. The study PA will be trained and licensed. The study PA will answer immediately or respond within 4 hours to address the patient's questions, triage the need for a higher level of care (such as contacting the surgeon, referring the patient to the emergency room, or scheduling an urgent appointment) and if necessary, modify the plan of care, including prescribe additional opioid medication if needed.

OTHER

DOTS Intervention

The DOTS intervention consists of: 1) a recommendation for a patient-specific opioid taper schedule based on opioid use prior to discharge, 2) an automated discharge opioid prescription based on the recommended taper schedule that providers can override, 3) a patient facing handout, and 4) post-discharge telephonic support for patients. DOTS will be delivered to providers in the EHR as part of their discharge workflow.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Montefiore Medical Center

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Justina Groeger, MD · Montefiore Medical Center

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SEQUENTIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-04-12

Primary Completion

2028-04-30

Completion

2028-04-30

Countries

• United States

Study Locations