Clinical trial NCT01909076: Transforming Opioid Prescribing in Primary Care
Official title: Implementing Opioid Risk Reduction Strategies Into Primary Care Practice
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Chronic Pain
Opioid-Related Disorders
Lead sponsor: Boston Medical Center
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
First posted: 2013-07-26
Enrollment: 53
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Prescription opioid misuse is a significant public health problem as well as a patient safety concern. Primary care providers are the leading prescribers of opioids for chronic pain, yet few providers follow standard practice guidelines regarding assessment and monitoring. The investigators propose a novel system change in delivery of primary care services to decrease misuse of and addiction to prescription opioids for patients with chronic pain.

The proposed intervention for the overall project includes a nurse-managed registry for planning individual patient care and conducting population-based care for a population of patients receiving opioids for chronic pain. Academic detailing to clinicians is another effective way to improve care. Finally, the researchers will create a knowledge management tool to facilitate guideline adherence. This tool will be accessible via an internet link, and will include validated instruments to assess patient status and also to facilitate physician adherence to suggested monitoring.

Detailed description: This project will implement interventions in the primary care setting to improve management of patients prescribed opioid therapy for chronic non-cancer pain.

Prescription opioid misuse is a significant current public health problem as well as a patient safety concern. Primary care providers are the leading prescribers of opioids for chronic pain, yet few providers follow standard practice guidelines regarding assessment and monitoring. The investigators propose a novel system change in delivery of primary care services to decrease misuse of and addiction to prescription opioids for patients with chronic pain.

The researchers will conduct a cluster randomized controlled trial, randomizing 50 primary care providers and their estimated 500 patients to the intervention condition (nurse care management, registry, electronic decision support tools, and academic detailing) or control condition (electronic decision support tools and educational outreach only). The primary outcomes, measured at twelve months, are PCP adherence to chronic opioid therapy guidelines and opioid misuse.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* All PCPs (physicians, doctors of osteopathy, nurse practitioners, and physicians' assistants) at participating sites with 4 patients prescribed opioid treatment along with their patients greater than or equal to age 18 who have 1) 3 or more completed visits to the primary care practice; 2) long-term opioid treatment defined by 3 or more opioid prescriptions written at least 21 days apart within 6 months; and 3) an inpatient or outpatient ICD9CM diagnosis for musculoskeletal or neuropathic pain. In addition, non-PCP staff at the health centers and at the Massachusetts State PMP who agree to be included in the qualitative assessments will be included and will be considered subjects. Note that the investigators have limited inclusion in the study to PCPs with at least 4 patients on chronic opioid therapy because it was determined that for PCPs with fewer than 4 patients the time burden associated with the study (meeting with nurse care manager, receiving academic detailing etc) would not be justified.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients currently receiving care for cancer, except non-melanoma skin cancer. Patients with remote (\>5 years) histories being disease-free from other cancers (e.g. breast, colon, prostate) will not be excluded due to the low risk of current cancer related pain. PCPs and staff who do not consent to the study.

Primary outcomes:
measure: PCP adherence to chronic opioid therapy guidelines
timeFrame: up to 12 months.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Patient opioid misuse, as measured by number of early refills
timeFrame: Each PCP's patient list will be assessed at baseline and at 12 months.
measure: Patient opioid and illicit substance misuse and/or abuse, as measured by urine toxicology results
timeFrame: Each PCP's patient list will be assessed at baseline and at 12 months.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Boston
country: United States
facility: Boston Medical Center
state: Massachusetts
Study officials:
affiliation: Boston Medical Center
name: Karen Lasser, MD, MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: Boston Medical Center
name: Jane E Liebschutz, MD, MPH
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Liebschutz JM, Xuan Z, Shanahan CW, LaRochelle M, Keosaian J, Beers D, Guara G, O'Connor K, Alford DP, Parker V, Weiss RD, Samet JH, Crosson J, Cushman PA, Lasser KE. Improving Adherence to Long-term Opioid Therapy Guidelines to Reduce Opioid Misuse in Primary Care: A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Intern Med. 2017 Sep 1;177(9):1265-1272. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2017.2468.
citation: Lasser KE, Shanahan C, Parker V, Beers D, Xuan Z, Heymann O, Lange A, Liebschutz JM. A Multicomponent Intervention to Improve Primary Care Provider Adherence to Chronic Opioid Therapy Guidelines and Reduce Opioid Misuse: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2016 Jan;60:101-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2015.06.018. Epub 2015 Jul 15.