Speakers - AWC 2025

Abstract

The opioid epidemic continues to be a nationwide health crisis. With providers frequently prescribing opioids for pain relief, the risk of misusing opioids is constantly increasing, leading to an increase in the number of opioid associated deaths. Many patients develop Opioid Use Disorder (OUD), which is a compulsive mental condition characterized by the chronic use of opioids regardless of the harmful consequences it may cause on a person’s mental or physical health. To identify at-risk populations, this project aimed to implement an OUD screening tool at a mid-sized hospital in Oklahoma. This screening tool was completed upon admission for every patient admitted to the medical surgical unit. Nurses also attached non-opioid pain interventions on the patient’s discharge packet as alternative forms of pain relief with hopes of decreasing the number of opioids patients take. Both the screening tool and non-opioid pain interventions handout was a part of the patient’s EMR and discharge paperwork so the documentation can be found by the primary care provider. The goal of implementing the screening tool was to enhance hospital communication with the primary care provider so treatment for OUD may be initiated in a timely manner. The aim of this project was to increase information to providers about each patient’s OUD risk and provide standard non-opioid interventions to manage patient’s pain levels with the goal of increasing communication and information sharing with providers so they can determine an individualized treatment plan for patients at risk of OUD.
Results: 112 patients were screened with the SOAPP-R tool. A total of 10 patients (8.9%) scored high risk for developing OUD with scores greater than 22. There were 33 patients (29.5%) who scored between 10 to 21, placing them at moderate risk, and 69 patients (61.6%) scoring 0 to 9 classifying as low risk. All patients, regardless of score, received a copy of their screening tool and a non-pharmacological pain methods handout at discharge. It was noted that 2 of the high-risk patients already are involved with pain management while another was transferred to another facility. The nurses notified the providers about the other 7 patients, and although referrals were not made specifically for increased risk of OUD, the screening tool was attached to the discharge paperwork for the surgeons, hospitalists, and primary care providers to review.
Conclusion: This project shows that there are many patients at risk of developing OUD that would have gone undetected without screening. More work is needed in educating providers on the importance of early detection and sending referrals to pain management or mental health services to prevent opioid misuse from occurring, resulting in poor health outcomes.