The Challenge
In 2017, the opioid epidemic was declared a public health emergency. According to the CDC, overdose deaths are a leading cause of injury-related deaths in the U.S. with rates still on the rise. In 2021, more than 220 people died each day from an overdose death. Opioids can be effective for managing post-operative pain, but overprescribing and misuse can lead to opioid dependence and addiction.
Our Solution
The Pennsylvania-New Jersey Surgical Opioid Stewardship (PENNJ-SOS) program is a collaborative of surgeons and surgical teams dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to prevent opioid use disorder while effectively managing post-operative pain.
To aid in opioid stewardship education and communication, PENNJ-SOS created multiple health-literate resources for both patients and clinicians.
In addition to the resources and program activities, a key component of PENNJ-SOS is data collection. Using a national registry (National Surgical Quality Improvement Program), hospitals collect perioperative data on surgical patients related to opioids, which provides surgical teams with benchmarking for quality improvement and research purposes. Findings, best practices, and innovations are shared at quarterly regional collaborative meetings.
Podcasts
Webinars
Personalization of Surgical Opioid Prescribing: Using Data Science to Reduce Opioid Exposure and Identify Outliers
Gabriel Brat MD, MPH, FACS
Preoperative Sedative Use and Outcomes After Surgery
Timothy Gaulton MD, MSc
An Introduction to Nurse-Led Integrated Therapies Programming at Main Line Health
Ann Blaney BSN, RN-BC
Social Determinants of Health: One Surgeons' Perspective
Timothy M. Pawlick MD, PhD, MPH, MTS, MBA
Opioid Ethics: Responsible Prescribing during a Drug Overdose Crisis
Travis N. Rieder PhD
Towards Opioid Free Surgery in Michigan
Michael Englesbe MD
