It’s that time of year again. Unbelievably, we are quickly approaching 2022 and it’s time to look back at of the biggest topics of 2021. Every year is full of actionable headlines to consider and challenges to overcome. Our goal is to help our clients navigate successfully though the important issues of the ever-changing healthcare landscape. Below is a summary of the top ten topics that generated the most questions and interest in 2021.
Opioid use has decreased, but overdoses have increased: How is that possible? Over the last decade, prescriptions for opioids have gone down significantly. Despite this, the number of drug related overdoses has increased. How can we have fewer prescriptions, fewer opioids and yet more people dying from overdoses? How does this impact our patients and prescribers?
How much pain medication should you send your patients home with? Do patients use opioids post operatively? The short answer is that most do not. Greater than sixty percent of patients do not completely use opioids prescribed for post-operative pain. How can physicians and facilities use this information to have a positive impact on the opioid crisis? How is your facility determining quantities prescribed? Are there alternatives to opioids? In this post we will discuss recent trends in the use of opioids as well as steps prescribers and facilities can take to reduce risks and liability.
