Appropriate Opioid Quantities for Acute Pain - Pharmacist Study
Status:
Enrolling by invitation
Trial end date:
2021-06-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
Prescription opioids contribute to opioid related deaths, overdose and addiction. Unused
prescribed opioids are not routinely being stored or disposed of appropriately and their
availability is associated with harms. Maximum daily doses prescribed are higher than that
recommended in a significant number of patients. This study is designed to help have
appropriate doses and quantities of opioids dispensed for the treatment of short-term pain.
Rather than targeting prescribing, this study targets the dispensing process by training
community pharmacists to assess the appropriateness and safety of opioid prescriptions for
short-term pain and to work with patients to partially fill prescriptions if the quantities
prescribed are deemed excessive. Patient education tools were developed to help promote
understanding of opioid safety, including the use of appropriate quantities, safe storage and
safe disposal. Pharmacists in five randomly selected regions in Ontario, Canada are targeted
for the eLearning intervention. The primary study outcome is the quantities dispensed for
initial opioid prescriptions for short-term pain in the intervention regions compared to ten
control regions.
Phase:
Phase 4
Details
Lead Sponsor:
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Collaborators:
Institute of Safe Medication Practices Canada North York General Hospital Ontario Drug Policy Research Network The Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre