Molly Jeffery, PhD, on The Stubborn Opioid Epidemic: Change Is Within Reach

Molly Jeffery, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, discusses her study on the rates of opioid use in the United States, which have remained largely unchanged over the past decade despite increased awareness measures. She also explains the value in setting voluntary prescribing guidelines in one’s own practice, and outlines several practical strategies that could help reduce opioid exposure without causing patient harm.

Molly Jeffery, PhD, is the Scientific Director of Emergency Medicine Research and a Research Associate in the Department of Health Sciences Research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

For more Consultant360 coverage of chronic pain medicine, visit our Medical Resource Center.

References:

1. Jeffery MM, Hooten WM, Henk HJ, et al. Trends in opioid use in commercially insured and Medicare Advantage populations in 2007-16: retrospective cohort study [Published online August 1, 2018]. BMJ. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k2833.

2. Wyles CC, Hevesi M, Trousdale ER, et al. The 2018 Chitranjan S. Ranawat, MD Award: Developing and implementing a novel institutional guideline strategy reduced postoperative opioid prescribing after TKA and THA [Published online March 28, 2018]. Clin Orthop Related Res. doi:10.1007/s11999.0000000000000292.

3. Delgado MK, Huang Y, Meisel Z, et al. National variation in opioid prescribing and risk of prolonged use for opioid-naive patients treated in the emergency department for ankle sprains [Published online July 24, 2018]. Ann Emerg Med. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2018.06.003.

4. Thiels CA, Ubl DS, Yost KJ, et al. Results of a prospective, multicenter initiative aimed at developing opioid-prescribing guidelines after surgery. Ann Surg. 2018;268(3):457-468. doi:10.1097/sla.0000000000002919.