Belleville hospital sees opioid prescriptions plunge
Belleville General Hospital has reduced the number of opioid prescriptions it issues by more than one-third, and they've done it one surgery at a time.
Prescriptions for powerful painkillers at the eastern Ontario hospital have dropped 36 per cent since April.
Kristina Cruess, a registered nurse and surgical program director for Quinte Health Care, said the hospital identified one type of operation in each department — general surgery, orthopedics, gynecology and urology — and came up with new drug standards.
Cruess said it all starts with a clear conversation with patients about what level of pain they can expect after their surgery.
"Setting expectations is a very critical part of the success of this," she told CBC's All In A Day.
Pain meds often unnecessary
Cruess said research shows most patients don't need as much pain medication as they're prescribed.
"The majority of patients did not complete their entire prescription," she said.
She said each department identified one surgery and then came up with a standard prescription, along with educational material for patients and tools to manage their own pain.
"The target was to have 75 per cent of the patients having that surgery receive that [standard prescription]," Cruess said.
Surgeons on board
Surgeons at the hospital were on board, she said.
"We started with education up front, brought in guest speakers, showed them the local data, and everyone is aware of this global crisis."
After the initial success, Cruess said doctors are now starting to look at other surgeries where standard prescriptions might be a better option for patients.
"It's really something quite small in the grand scheme of the whole surgical program, but the effects of it can be so tremendous."
