Two New Papers Explore The Impacts of Surgery & Opioids
The recently published paper, “Chronic opioid use after joint replacement surgery in seniors is associated with increased healthcare utilization and costs: A historical cohort study,” confirms what many of us have long suspected, “Chronic opioid use after arthroplasty was associated with higher resource utilization and healthcare costs during the year following surgery.”
The results of this paper, which followed 49,638 hip and 85,558 knee replacement patients, is further evidence about the importance of proper pain management and optimal opioid prescribing.
This made-in-Ontario study was co-authored by eight individuals including three Ontario anesthesiologists: Drs. Ian Gilron, Brian Milne, Joel Parlow, all of whom are associated with the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. It is currently available to subscribers of the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia.
Another study that we believe Perioperative Pain Management Pathway users will find relevant is “Perioperative Opioids, the Opioid Crisis, and the Anesthesiologist," which was published this month in Anesthesiology. This free paper summarizes, “…current evidence related to perioperative opioid administration. We also make suggestions for how anesthesiologists can reduce opioid-related harm and bring value to their healthcare systems. Finally, we provide some caveats to these suggestions given existing gaps in research and highlight areas for future research.”
From, "Perioperative Opioids, the Opioid Crisis, and the Anesthesiologist”
Among its many observations is, “Anesthesiologists can serve as a resource for surgical colleagues regarding post-discharge prescribing.” SolvingPain completely agrees with this and many of the paper’s comments including, “Anesthesiologists have a unique opportunity to show value in the healthcare system by positively impacting the devastating opioid epidemic.”
That conclusion is one of the reasons why Ontario’s Anesthesiologists developed SolvingPain and the Perioperative Pain Management Pathway. We believe that our members have the knowledge and the agency to make a positive and impactful difference when it comes to opioids and effective pain management. Please help us maximize that impact by sharing the Pathway with your surgical colleagues.