Skip to content

An Opioid Prescribing Nudge

An Opioid Prescribing Nudge: Leveraging Behavioral Economics to Reduce Opioid Harms Within Health Systems

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT04069403
Acronym
OHS
Enrollment
427
Registered
2019-08-28
Start date
2019-09-10
Completion date
2020-06-15
Last updated
2020-06-30

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Benzodiazepine Abuse, Benzodiazepine Dependent, Health Behavior, Opioid Use, Unspecified, Prescription Drug Abuse and Dependency, Prescription Drug Abuse (Not Dependent)

Keywords

Opioids, Prescription, Patterns, Nudge, Practices

Brief summary

Analyze baseline concurrent opioid prescribing metrics at the individual prescriber level in the Duke Health System on the identified three main outcome measures. Test the impact of reports on opioid prescriber behaviors with the following primary measures: number of prescriptions with concurrent benzo within reporting period, number of prescriptions with concurrent muscle relaxants within reporting period, and number of encounters with naloxone prescriptions for patients with any opioid-related diagnosis within reporting period. Create a blueprint to implement the concurrent opioid prescribing nudge intervention in other settings.

Detailed description

The Concurrent Opioid Prescribing Nudge project intends to address multiple points within the opioid-use cycle through the development of standardized and scalable reporting mechanisms to provide social comparisons and feedback to physicians across the Duke Health System regarding their concurrent and co- opioid, benzodiazepines, and muscle relaxant prescribing practices. Concurrent are hereby defined as: * writing a new opioid prescription for a patient with a benzodiazepine prescription within the last 3 months, * writing a new benzodiazepine prescription for a patient with a opioid prescription within the last 3 months, * writing a new muscle relaxant prescription for a patient with an opioid prescription within the last 3 months, * writing a new opioid prescription for a patient with muscle relaxant prescription within the last 3 months, or * writing a new prescription for both an opioid and benzodiazepine or opioid and muscle relaxant. The proposed project will leverage insights from behavioral economics to design informational and social incentives to reduce concurrent practices and mitigate opioid harm. Opioid prescribers (attending physicians, residents, and advanced practice providers) at participating departments and clinics in the Duke Health System will be randomized to a control or intervention arm. Over six month reporting periods beginning fall 2019, providers in the intervention arms will receive monthly reports with their individual prescribing patterns and comparison to peer prescribing patterns for the following measures: number of prescriptions with concurrent opioid active prescriptions of opioid/ benzodiazepines, number of prescriptions with concurrent opioid active prescriptions of opioid/muscle relaxants, and number of missed opportunities to prescribe naloxone to patients with any opioid-related diagnosis. The control arm will receive usual clinical education and feedback. Interventions will be implemented at participating departments and clinics utilizing a stepped-wedge timeline.

Interventions

OTHERAutomated Reports on prescription patterns for their patients

de-identified aggregate reports

Sponsors

Duke University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE

Intervention model description

Analyze baseline concurrent opioid prescribing metrics at the individual prescriber level in the Duke Health System on the identified three main outcome measures. Test the impact of reports on opioid prescriber behaviors with the following primary measures: number of prescriptions with concurrent or benzo within reporting period, number of prescriptions with concurrent muscle relaxants within reporting period, and number of encounters with naloxone prescriptions for patients with any opioid-related diagnosis within reporting period. Create a blueprint to implement the concurrent opioid prescribing nudge intervention in other settings.

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

The primary population of focus for this study is: * attending physicians * residents * advanced practice providers hereby referred to as opioid prescribers in Duke University Health System and may include these departments and clinics: * Emergency Department * Neurology, Pain Management * Primary Care * Psychiatry, Sleep Disorder Clinic * Spine All opioid prescribers in these settings will be identified in partnership with Duke University Health System.

Exclusion criteria

* Providers not identified above

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Change in Opioid prescribing habitsBaseline, 6 MonthsUsing baseline concurrent opioid prescribing metrics obtained (at the individual prescriber level) during their initial month and month prior in the Duke Health System, measure changes in Opioid n prescription orders as measured by provider prescriptions
number of prescriptions with concurrent benzo within reporting period6 MonthsIdentify the number of prescriptions with concurrent benzo over 6 months
number of prescriptions with concurrent muscle relaxants within reporting period6 MonthsIdentify the number of prescriptions with concurrent muscle relaxants over 6 months
number of encounters with naloxone prescriptions for patients with any opioid-related diagnosis within reporting period6 MonthsIdentify the number of encounters with naloxone prescriptions for patients with any opioid-related diagnosis over 6 months

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026