STandard Versus No Opioid Prescription After Prolapse and Anti-INcontinence Surgery: A Randomized Controlled, Non-inferiority Trial

Overprescribing opioids is considered a major contributor to the opioid crisis. Hill et al. demonstrated that within a general surgery practice, over 70% of the prescribed opioid pills were never taken. Disturbingly, 45% of patients who did not take opioids at all on their day of discharge were discharged with an opioid prescription (Chen et al). Recent initiatives have attempted to utilize restrictive opioid prescribing protocols for postoperative pain management in which patients were prescribed a limited number of opioid tablets (Hallway et al) or prescribed opioids only if they were used as an inpatient (Mark et al). These well-conducted studies show that restrictive opioid prescribing policies achieve the goal of reducing excess opioid exposure without causing undue harm, inconvenience or dissatisfaction among patients.

The objective of this study is to determine if a restrictive opioid prescription protocol (in which patients are not prescribed postoperative opioids unless they request them) is acceptable to patients after ambulatory and major urogynecologic surgery, compared to standard opioid prescribing practices. The study investigators believe that physicians can capitalize on the new ability to electronically prescribe opioids for patients who require them, to prevent over-prescribing without impacting patient care. The study also intends to describe postoperative opioid use patterns in the urogynecologic population, including factors predictive of opioid use and non-use. The results of this research will have a significant and timely impact by helping to reduce opioid overprescribing and informing future prescribing guidelines in the field of urogynecology.