Piloting an Opioid Risk Screening Tool in Clinical Practice

Abstract

Background:Despite much research and many interventions, the opioid epidemic continues to plague the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021), 136 people die daily from both prescription and illicit opioids.Objective:The goal of this pilot quality improvement project is to examine how the implementation of the Opioid Risk Tool (ORT) in clinical practice might impact the beliefs and attitudes of nurse practitioners (NPs) toward prescribing opioid therapy.Methods:A pre–post design was utilized. A convenience sample recruited participants from a private NP Facebook group. The intervention included a prerecorded presentation on the ORT and the use of the ORT for 8 weeks.Results:While 46 NPs completed the presurvey, only 19 NPs completed the postsurvey. Statistical results did not yield significance, but there were several significant clinical trends discovered.Conclusion:Utilizing the ORT to screen for opioid misuse risks has been shown to improve providers’ confidence in opioid prescribing. ORT guides providers in discerning patient risk for developing dependence on opioids.Implications for Nursing:Screening for opioid misuse risk is feasible. ORT adds to the clinical context in deciding a course of treatment in pain management.