Last Fall, WSHA and Chief Medical Officers in both Oregon and Washington, collaborated to create an Opioid Stewardship workgroup under the Northwest Safety & Quality Partnership (NWSQP). While aims still support overdose prevention, identifying and treating Opioid Use Disorder and exploring Alternatives to Opioids (ALTO), prescribing practices remain a key priority for this quality and patient safety initiative.
Utilizing a literature and data-informative approach, the NWSQP Opioid Stewardship workgroup identified acute opioid prescribing in the pediatric population as an important priority and opportunity to protect a vulnerable population during critical brain development and, how this approach can positively impact more quality of life for individuals long term.
Key 2021-2022 objectives supporting this aim will include educational opportunities to engage providers, clinicians, pharmacists and care teams in equitable approaches to alternative modalities in pain management, learning best practice strategies, protocols, workflows, and patient and family engagement tactics from industry leaders.
To learn more about this improvement opportunity and/or additional information on reducing acute opioid prescribing, please contact Tinas@wsha.org or 206-216-2517
Tools:
- Opioid Stewardship Collaborative | AHA
- HIIN-opioid-guide-0520.pdf (aha.org)
- EHRA CDC Opioid Guideline Implementation Guide for EHRs (chimecentral.org
- Opioid Conversion Calculator for Morphine Equivalents | Oregon Pain Guidance
Resources:
- Acute-Prescribing-Guidelines.pdf (oregon.gov)
- Oregon Medical Board Report: Endorsement of Acute Opioid Prescribing Guidelines Winter 2019.pdf (oregon.gov)
- Oregon Health Authority : Reducing Opioid Overdose and Misuse : Opioid Overdose and Misuse : State of Oregon
- Oregon: Opioid-Involved Deaths and Related Harms | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
- Pharmaceutical Stewardship Passes in Oregon, 4th Law in Nation! | Community Environmental Health Strategies (cehstrategies.com)
