Discerning Clinician Perceptions of an Established Opioid Stewardship (DISCLOSE) Program

Abstract

Background: The Opioid Stewardship Program (OSP) was created to promote safe and rational prescribing of opioids, where the risks associated with providing opioids for patients must be balanced against the risk of patients experiencing uncontrolled pain. The pharmacist-led OSP was established at 2 Fraser Health Authority (FHA) sites, British Columbia, to provide clinical services through patient referrals and screening. The rate of acceptance of OSP pharmacists’ recommendations has been high, but there was a need to assess clinicians’ perceptions of the program. Objectives: To assess the perceptions of health care professionals at FHA hospitals offering the OSP regarding various aspects of the program and to identify areas of the program that could be modified to further optimize service delivery. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional survey was distributed to about 250 targeted health care professionals, who answered questions regarding their perceptions of the OSP. Data were analyzed using simple descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 71 respondents initiated the survey, of whom 59 were included in the final analyses. Most participants indicated that the OSP pharmacists’ suggestions were valuable for optimizing pain management (52/57, 91%) and preventing adverse events (49/56, 88%). Most participants were satisfied with the quality of communication (51/56, 91%), timeliness to consults (51/52, 98%), and recommendations provided (52/55, 95%). Increasing knowledge transfer, improving communication about intentions for patient follow-up, and expanding services at current sites and to other sites were recommended to improve the OSP. Conclusions: Clinicians responding to the survey reported a high level of satisfaction with and positive views of the pharmacist-led OSP. Providing more education and clarifying intentions for patient follow-up are modifications that could be made to improve the program.