Opioid Reduction Strategy South Western Ontario

Pain is a major risk factor for chronic postoperative pain. Adequate perioperative pain relief is an important metric for patient satisfaction and to achieve good recovery outcomes. Opioids remain the primary systemic pharmacotherapy for intraoperative and postoperative analgesia, particularly for moderate to severe pain. When used judiciously, opioids are effective in reducing suffering and helping patients cope with postoperative pain. However, there are challenges - a) side effects can result in harm, like respiratory depression; b) over-reliance on opioids can increase drug dependency; c) over-prescription can encourage addiction, overdose and death, leading to a human and financial burden from both, an individual, and public health standpoint. Over-prescription of opioids for acute pain is strongly linked to patient morbidity and mortality. For example, a new opioid prescription raises the risk of lethal or non-lethal overdose, as well as the conversion from opioid-naive to chronic user. Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI), and Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) data emphasize the public health need to reduce reliance on opioids: "From January 2016 to June 2018, more than 9,000 Canadians died from apparent opioid related harms. In 2017, an average of 17 Canadians were hospitalized for opioid poisonings each day - an increase from 16 per day in 2016". Prescription opioid use appears to be an early driver of the current crisis. Given the local and national severity of the opioid crisis, there is need for a pragmatic, timely, and scalable intervention to reduce reliance on opioids as we strive to improve healthcare for patients and alleviate the economic burden on the medical system. This proposal for a stepped-wedge randomized trial of a multi-faceted opioid-use reduction strategy addresses key drivers of the opioid crisis and has the potential to reduce patient exposure to opioids and, thereby, improve morbidity and mortality. Hospitals involved i