Prescribing Opioid Pain Relievers in the Emergency Department: Understanding and Optimizing the Encounter

Northwestern University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Opioid Use, Unspecified

Treatments: Behavioral: Additional Opioid Information

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02299024

SP0017808

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators overall study objective is to improve patients knowledge and safe use of opioid pain relievers upon discharge from the Emergency Department.

Full description

Recent studies indicate that emergency department (ED) discharge processes - including written and spoken communications - are inadequate, and patients often leave without the knowledge necessary to properly care for themselves. In the context of opioid pain relievers, this lack of knowledge is potentially dangerous, as patients may not possess the requisite knowledge for safe use of their medication or an awareness of the dangers of medication misuse.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of an opioid information sheet and spoken counseling on patient knowledge about opioids and safe use behaviors. The investigators conducted a randomized controlled pilot test of a dual-modality educational intervention (written information sheet and spoken counseling about opioids) to assess if the intervention can increase patient knowledge about opioid pain relievers. These activities were intended to guide future modification of educational interventions and the future development of best practices for emergency physician spoken counseling about opioid pain relievers.

Enrollment: 278 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• prescribed an opioid pain reliever
• English Speaking

Exclusion criteria

• Non-English Speaking
• Clinically unstable, psychologically impaired or intoxicated as judged by the research staff member.
• Chronic opioid use, defined as daily or near daily use of opioid pain relievers for the past 90 days.
• admitted to hospital
• unable to complete follow up phone interview in 4 - 7 days.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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278 participants in 2 patient groups

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in this arm are discharged from the Northwestern Emergency Department with standard communication about their prescribed opioid pain medication from their care providers. They are called for a follow up survey 4-7 days after their visit.

Dual Modality Educational Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

Patients in this arm are discharged from the ED with an additional information sheet about their prescribed opioid pain medication, via the intervention titled "Additional Opioid Information". The sheet is read aloud to them by a research assistant. They are called 4-7 days later for a follow up survey.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Additional Opioid Information