Impact of Patient Prescription History on Emergency Department Opioid Prescribing for Acute Pain

Abstract

With prescription opioid abuse having reached epidemic proportions, Emergency Department clinicians must assess the safety of prescribing opioid pain medication to patients for whom they have limited information or history. Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) may provide information that impacts prescribing. In an online survey, 37 emergency physicians and physician assistants indicated their likelihood to prescribe opioids to three fictional patients with acute, non-cancer pain before and after reviewing each patient’s PDMP profile. Our main finding is that respondents were less likely to prescribe opioids in all three scenarios after viewing the PDMP profiles. PDMP profiles may substantively impact a prescriber’s likelihood to prescribe opioids in certain acute pain situations.