WSHA is currently enrolling hospitals to participate in a program known as Better Prescribing, Better Treatment, which provides opioid prescribers with feedback reports. Our goal is to enroll 100 percent of our state’s hospitals.
WSHA, the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA) and the Washington State Health Care Authority have been providing prescribing reports since 2017 to providers who see Medicaid patients. By working with more than 17,000 prescribers at more than 55 hospitals and groups in the state, we have seen early success in reducing the number of opioids prescribed in our communities.
To date the number of acute opioid prescriptions decreased substantially and is in balance with patients’ access to appropriate pain care. Given our growing success, we plan to expand this strategy to all opioid prescribers in Washington State.
Opioid prescribing practices vary greatly across providers, specialties and hospitals. Prescribing above and beyond the acute guidelines can increase the risk of substance use disorder and death. One way to reduce this variation is to provide feedback to prescribers that compare them against their peers. Our goal is to enroll 100 percent of hospitals in the prescriber feedback program.
For more information, or to enroll in this program, contact WSHA Director of Quality and Performance Improvement Trish Anderson at (206) 216-2524 or trisha@wsha.org. Your participation will help reduce substance use disorders in your community. It will also help avoid administratively burdensome legislative and regulatory approaches in the future.
