US Acute Care Solutions Reduces Opioid Prescriptions Through Emergency Department Feedback Program

CANTON, Ohio--(BUSINESS WIRE)--US Acute Care Solutions (USACS) is pleased to share its success in reducing opioid prescribing rates in emergency departments (EDs) nationwide. This achievement is the result of an audit and feedback quality improvement program, designed to limit excessive prescribing in several practice settings and health systems.

The Growing Epidemic

Since 1999, over one million Americans have lost their lives to a drug overdose, making it the leading cause of death among those aged 18-44. A key driver of this epidemic is the overprescribing of opioids, which ultimately contributes to addiction and mortality.

While not the primary contributor to the opioid epidemic, EDs do account for one-fifth of all opioid prescriptions. This presents a vital opportunity for emergency physicians to address variations in prescribing behavior at our partner sites. Through our data-driven initiative, we offer a proven approach to minimize the number of patients first exposed to opioids in the emergency room.

A Framework for Comparative Insights

Our efforts demonstrate the strategic use of transparent monitoring and evaluation. Employed by clinicians across USACS EDs, we relied on two primary interventions:

• Peer Comparison Tool: An online dashboard that allows clinicians to compare their prescribing practices to peers (in blinded fashion), encouraging a culture of accountability and an evidence-based approach to prescribing opioids
• Direct Clinician Feedback: One-on-one, non-judgmental conversations between high-prescribing clinicians and national ED leaders, promoting continuous progress and a shared commitment to evidence-based pain management strategies

Within this framework, clinicians also received educational materials on the importance of alternatives to opioids (ALTOs), creating and approving pain management guidelines at the departmental level, optimizing geriatric pain management, and improving communication with patients.

Positive Patient Outcomes

To assess patient outcomes, we analyzed data over a two-year period and published our results in the Annals of Emergency Medicine as the largest ever study of an ED opioid prescribing intervention. Following implementation, we observed an efficient and sustained reduction in opioid prescriptions. From 2020 to 2022, our ED prescriptions decreased from 10.36% of discharges to 6.92%. With continued prioritization, the rate has continued to drop every subsequent quarter. Our 2024 data placed us at 5.80% of discharged patients. At a single site or single healthsystem, this would be significant. At our scale of over 300 EDs and over 5 million ED patients discharged annually, the effect is massive, resulting in hundreds of thousands fewer opioid prescriptions.

“The results speak for themselves,” said Chief Medical Officer, Amer Aldeen, MD, FACEP, FAAEM. “We have seen a 44% decline in our prescription rate, with impressive changes among our highest prescribers. Our patients are benefiting from effective pain relief and management without elevated risks of opioid dependency or abuse.”

“We are using scalable solutions to combat one of the most pressing public health challenges of our time,” affirmed Chief of Clinical Innovation, Jesse Pines, MD, MBA, MSCE. “While we in the ED are not the major cause of the opioid pandemic, we can be part of the solution.”

About USACS

Founded by emergency medicine and inpatient physicians across the country, USACS is solely owned by its physicians and hospital system partners. The group is a national leader in integrated acute care, including emergency, hospital, and critical care medicine services. USACS provides high-quality care to approximately 11 million patients annually across more than 400 programs and is aligned with many of the leading health systems in the country. Visit usacs.com for more.