Provider-Targeted Behavioral Interventions to Prevent Unsafe Opioid Prescribing for Acute Pain in Primary Care

University of Pittsburgh

Status: Completed

Conditions: Musculoskeletal Pain; Acute Pain; Headache

Treatments: Behavioral: Opioid Justification; Behavioral: Provider Comparison; Behavioral: Usual Care/Guideline

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03537573

UOP-1609-36881

STUDY20110336

Details and patient eligibility

About

The investigators will assess whether behavioral science-based interventions can "nudge" providers towards more evidence-based care for patients with acute non-cancer pain.

Aim 1) Among opioid naïve primary care patients with acute non-cancer pain, compare the effect of the provider-targeted behavioral interventions (opioid justification and provider comparison), individually and in combination, on initial opioid prescription, initial use of non-opioid management, and patient-reported pain and function.

Aim 2) Compare the effect of the 2 provider-targeted behavioral interventions, individually and in combination, on unsafe opioid prescribing and transition to chronic opioid therapy.

Aim 3) Assess provider satisfaction and experience with the provider-targeted behavioral interventions.

Hypotheses:

Aim 1, H1a: Compared with the guideline (usual care) alone, the addition of the opioid justification and provider comparison behavioral interventions will be associated with a decreased proportion of opioid prescription and increased proportion of non-opioid management at the initial outpatient visit for acute non-cancer pain.

Aim 1, H1b: Compared with usual care (guideline) alone, the addition of the opioid justification and provider comparison behavioral interventions will be associated with no difference in patient-reported pain, function, and satisfaction at 1, 6, and 12 months.

Aim 2, H2: Compared with the usual care (guideline), the addition of opioid justification and provider comparison behavioral interventions will be associated with a decreased proportion of patients receiving unsafe opioid therapy and a decreased proportion of patients transitioning to chronic opioid therapy.

Study Design: Pragmatic, cluster-randomized clinical trial in 48 primary care clinics.

Study Population: The patient population will be 19,855 opioid naïve adults who present to clinic with acute uncomplicated musculoskeletal pain or headache.

Primary and Secondary Outcomes: The primary outcome measures will be receipt of an initial opioid prescription and unsafe opioid prescribing. Secondary outcomes will be non-opioid pain management, and, in 514 patients, patient-reported pain and function.

Analytic Plan: The investigators will test for differences in the primary and secondary outcomes among the 4 intervention groups.

Once completed, the project will provide evidence that health systems and other stakeholders need to implement interventions to prevent unsafe opioid prescribing.

Enrollment: 22,616 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

1. Patient Participants

   Inclusion Criteria:

   • Age 18 years or older; ii) index outpatient encounter with International Classification of Disease (ICD)-10 code for acute neck, back, or other musculoskeletal and headache diagnosis ("acute" defined as no similar diagnosis in past 3 months).

   Exclusion Criteria:

   • Cancer diagnosis (other than non-melanoma skin cancer)
   • Receipt of opioid prescription within 12 months of index outpatient encounter

2. Providers

Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary care provider (MD, Doctor of Osteopathy (DO), Physician Assistant (PA), Nurse Practitioner (NP)) at participating practice

Exclusion Criteria:

• None

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Factorial Assignment

Masking: Double Blind

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22,616 participants in 4 patient groups

Usual Care/Guideline

Active Comparator group

Description:

The Usual Care group (also known as the Guideline group) follows the recent Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and, when triggered by an opioid prescription during a qualifying visit, will be delivered real-time in a short checklist of recommendations to: 1) check the state-specific Prescription Drug Monitoring Program; 2) assess risk factors for opioid-related harms (e.g., history of substance use disorder, history of mental health problems, benzodiazepine use); 3) avoid extended-release or long-acting opioids; 4) use a low dose of immediate-release opioid for short period of time (3-7 days); and 5) consider non-opioid management such as acetaminophen, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agents (NSAIDS), and physical therapy. Epic EHR order sets will be linked to enable easing ordering of non-opioid therapy.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual Care/Guideline

Guideline + Opioid Justification (OJ)

Experimental group

Description:

Providers will be required asked to enter a free text justification for their decision to prescribe an opioid analgesic for the acute pain condition. The provider will be notified that the justification provided will be visible in the Epic EHR. The provider has the option of entering a justification or not. If no justification is entered, nothing will be entered into the record (i.e., the Opioid Justification area in the encounter record will be left blank). The provider does not need to enter a justification if they choose to cancel the opioid prescription.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual Care/Guideline

Behavioral: Opioid Justification

Guideline + Provider Comparison (PC)

Experimental group

Description:

Providers will receive monthly feedback via e-mail on their status in regards to initial opioid prescriptions for acute pain, adherence to safe opioid prescribing guidelines, and proportion of patients started on opioids f or acute pain who transition to chronic opioid therapy (\> 3 months). Providers in the lowest decile overall for proportion of patients with initial opioid prescriptions , unsafe opioid prescribing, and transition to chronic opioid therapy (\> 3 months) will be given positive feedback for providing high quality, evidence-based care to their patients with acute pain. Providers outside the lowest decile will be notified they are outside the high quality, evidence-based care range and will be provided with their proportions compared to the high performers.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual Care/Guideline

Behavioral: Provider Comparison

Guideline + OJ + PC

Experimental group

Description:

This arm will include the guideline, opioid justification, and provider comparison described above.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Usual Care/Guideline

Behavioral: Provider Comparison

Behavioral: Opioid Justification