PostOp Pain Management Prescription Guidelines

General Principles

• The following are guidelines that are designed as a template for other institutions to design their guidelines
• Due to various factors guidelines cannot be applied to all patients
  • Current provider compliance at our institution is just above 90%
• The single most important factor leading to opioid misuse is the total amount dispensed (Brat et al., BMJ 2018)
• Using these guidelines has led to a 50% decrease in the amount of opioids prescribed
• Alternating ibuprofen and acetaminophen postoperatively is recommended
• However, non-acetaminophen derived opioids can be difficult to obtain in many regions of the country
• Therefore, two sets of guidelines are provided
  • Acetaminophen derived opioids
  • Non-acetaminophen derived opioids

Use of the Guidelines

1. Did the patient have a Mild, Moderate, Major procedure or Spinal Fusion?
2. Does the patient prefer pill or liquid medicine?
3. What is the patient’s weight?
4. Is this the first or second prescription?

Download Guidelines

• PostOp Prescription Guidelines