The pledge to reduce opioid prescriptions by 40% by the end of 2018 makes Intermountain the first health system in the United States to formally announce such a significant and specific reduction as a target.
Intermountain Healthcare made an ambition pledge this week to reduce its opioid usage.
The Utah-based health system aims to cut by 40% the average amount of opioids prescribed per acute pain prescription at its 22 hospitals and 180 clinics by the end of 2018.
Intermountain says it is the first U.S. health system to formally announce such a significant and specific amount of reduction as a target.
“Currently, nationwide, providers tend to write prescriptions for more opioids than patients need, and large quantities of the medications are often left over after the need for pain relief is past,” Doug Smith, MD, associate medical director for Intermountain Healthcare, said in a statement. “We will follow best practices in prescribing so the medications prescribed more closely match the needs of patients.”
He noted also that “Patients with acute or chronic pain conditions will still be able to get the medications they need.”
Intermountain will introduce new tools and policies for its caregivers to reduce the number of opioid tablets the organization prescribes by more than 5 million annually. To achieve the 40% reduction, Intermountain says it has already provided training to about 2,500 caregivers within its system, with plans to expand training to additional prescribers in Utah and Idaho communities. Intermountain is also adding prompts and default order sets into its EHRs to help reduce the number of tablets prescribed.
These new efforts follow on the health system's support of other statewide initiatives. For instance, Intermountain works with the Utah Department of Health, the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, and others to provide extensive provider and patient education.
The system also supports community initiatives to reduce opioid usage and safely dispose of medications. For example, in 2015 Intermountain community pharmacies installed secure medication disposal drop boxes for unused medications. So far, more than 15,000 pounds of unused medications have been disposed of by the community in the drop boxes.
In addition, Intermountain says it plans to expand other services, such as pain management clinics and treatment resources for opioid use disorders, to better help patients with chronic pain or addiction. It will offer more educational services for patients, and complementary therapies will be available.
Alexandra Wilson Pecci is an editor for HealthLeaders.
